First Things in Old Somerset, 



A COLLECTION OF ARTICLES 



RELATING TO SOMERSET COUNTY, N. J., 



BY THE LATE 



REV. A. MESSLER, D. D., 



REVISED TO DATE OF PUBLICATION, 



INXLUDING 



Sketches of VVashinyton Rock, Chimney Rock 



AND A LIST OF THE 



FREEHOLDERS IN SOMERSET COUNTY IN 1790. 



SOMERVILLE, N J.: 
The Somerville Publishing Company Steam Powbr Printing House. 

1899. 



6 li'f 



i/> 



PREFACE. 



The following sketches of " The First Things in Somerset," were prepared by 
the late Abraham Messier, D. D. They represent many years of research and labor, 
and were published in one of the county papers sometime in the seventies. After 
their publication corrections were made by the Doctor up to the time of his death. 
The historical value of these sketches is considered too great to loose, and they are 
now published for the first time in book form, so that they can be preserved for 
future historians. 

The publisher here wishes to return thanks to A. P. Sutphen, Esq., who has 
rendered valuable assistance in making corrections, so as to bring the location of 
farms and other property up to present ownership. 

Thanks are also due to Hon. George C. Beekman, of Freehold, for the list of 
property owners in Somerset county in 1790. 



Somerville, N J., March i, 1899. 



D. N. MESSLER, 

Publisher. 




ABRAHAM MESSLER. D. D. 



No. I— tHE RiVER. 



ANY notice of old Somerset would be partial, which did not embrace some ac- 
count of its beautiful, smooth- flowing river. Tradition says the Indians pro- 
nounced the word Raritan as if it began with an L*, instead of R, as now writ" 
ten, and also giving the broad sound to a, making it Laletan ; and we are inclined to 
believe that this is correct. There are many known instances where greater mis- 
takes were made in attempting to write the aboriginal names from hearing them 
spoken. The meaning of the word is variously interpreted. One signification is 
said to be "smooth-running," or "gentle." Another says it means "two long 
branches." Our knowledge of the Delaware language does not enable us to decide 
what is the true signification of the word Laletan. But certainly the word itself is 
suflBciently "smooth flowing," if that should be regarded as anj'thing in favor of 
what seems to be most commonly thought to be the true signification. 

The Raritan is composed of two principal branches, rising very near each other, 
in Morris county, on opposite sides of the last continuous ridge of the primitive or 
Appalachian range, which crosses New Jersey in a northeastern direction. The South 
Branch finding its source on the northern slope of this ridge, called in some of its 
parts Fox Hill, takes a wide sweep to the southwest until it has passed the village of 
Clinton, where it is broken up — and then turning east approaches Neshanic, and 
bends in back upon its own course, meets the ^North Branch near Branchville. 
The Indians named the place of meeting " Tuckaramahacking," which stems 
almost to interpret itself, and to mean "the two branches meeting." The North 
Branch rising on the eastern side of the ridge spgken of, breaks through the hills in 
the neighborhood of Mendham, and finds its way in almost a direct course to its 
companion, with which it mingles its purer waters. At their junction the Raritan 
properly commences, and becomes indeed, a very beautiful river. Its green 
meadows spread out on either side of its winding course, and a broad plain expands 
to the south and the east, affording the richest pasture and the most productive arable 
lands ; while the wide extended space on the southeast, reaching to the ocean and 
embracing the valley of the Millstone, gives to the County of Somerset its most dis- 
tinguished features, and furnishes the larger part of its wealth to the agriculturist. 

If we were writing a notice ol the natural features of the county, we should dwell 
upon the Trap Ranges north of Somerville and south of Neshanic, as presenting 
many remarkable geological features, which require an amount of study never yet 
given to them, in order to understand properly their origin, their direct influence in 
determining the natural features of the county, and the untold wealth which lies 
hidden in their solid strata and along their sides. 

There is known to be limestone underlying the red shale and the sandstone, at 
least in the vicinity of Somerville, and as the strata composing the valley of the Rar- 
itan have been so little elevated by the eruption and the protrusion of the trap 
ranges, it is more than probable that at some point the elevation may have brought 
the limestone so near the surface as to make it available for commercial purposes. 
The sandstone in the valley north of Somerville is but partly developed and appre- 



dated ; and the day is not distant when it will abundantly repay the labor of raising it 
and bringing it to market. The copper found in connection with the protruding trap 
is the effect of effusion and indicates an abundant supply somewhere below. Besides 
masses of it have been found which have been brought by the trap and even par- 
tially fused, weighing many pounds— one more than seventy — all indicating the 
abundance existing somewhere. 

These facts are suflBcient to justify the opinion expressed as to the hidden trea- 
sures of the trap ranges of Somerset county. When they are destined to be disin- 
terred and appropriated we are not prepared to say. Our object is merely to justify 
the aflSrmation that they exist. 

The earliest reliable recorded notice which we have seen of the Raritan river, is 
found among the Albany records, and is dated 1663, when the trade in furs with the 
Indians had begun to excite the cupidity of the English, and led to remonstrances 
on the part of the Dutch of Manhattan Island. There is indeed, said to be in the 
same records, a letter from Herr Van Werkhover to Baron Vander Capellan, stating 
that the lands about Neversink and the Raritans Kill, had been purchased for him 
in 164.9, ^o'i complaining that they had not been allotted to him. This only shows 
that the value of these lands was already known as early as thirty years after the 
first settlements were formed around the "Trading Post" on Manhattan Island. 
Ogilby says in 1671, "that both sides of the Raritan are adorned ith spacious 
meadows, enough to feed thousands of cattle. The wood land is very good for corn 
and stored with wild beasts ; as deer, elks, and an innumerable multitude of fowL 
as in other parts of the country. This liver is thought very capable for erecting of 
several towns and villages on each side of it, no place in North America having 
better convenience for the maintaining of all sorts of cattle for winter and summer 
food." 

As a matterofcuriosity and not from any idea ofits value or importance in any his- 
torical sense, but only as an illustration of the way in which the Indians "romanced " 
and practiced on the credulity of white men, we shall quote a notice of our river from 
a description of New Albion (as New Jersey was then called) by Beauchamp Plantage- 
net, Esq., dated 1648, a year earlier than Van Werkhover's claim. He says "the 
Indians of New Jersej' were under the dominion of about twenty kings ; that there 
were r,2oo under two Raritan kings ; that the seat of the Raritan king is said to have 
been called by the English Mount Ployden, twenty miles from Sandhay Sea, and 
ninety from the ocean, west to Amara Hill, the retired Paradise of the children of 
the Ethiopian emperor — a wonder, for it is a square rock, two miles compass, one 
hundred and fifty feet high, a wall-like precipice, a strait entrance, easily made 
invincible, where he keeps two hundred for his guards, and under is a flat valley, all 
plain to plant and sow." 

If we were inclined to favor such romance we should claim that no place so 
well answers the above description as the bluff in the gorge of Chimney Rock, north 
of the little bridge on the north and east sides of which the two rivulets flow and 
meet a few yards eastward in the main gorge. But we are not disposed to practice 
on the credulity of our readers, as the Indians evidently did, on Beauchamp Plant- 
agenet, Esq. 

The savages who lived permanently on the Raritan (and there were only a few 
of the Raritan tribe who did so) had very fertile corn lands on the meadows, which 
they appreciated and planted — proving that they were not generally wooded, but on 
the contrary, were of the nature of a prairie or savannah. This feature afterwards 
formed one of the main attractions to settlers, and induced the first who came there 



3 

to locate on the first upland contiguous to these natural meadows, where they found 
at once abundant pasturage for cattle, and a soil ready for the plow. Hence, in 
point of fact, all the first buildings from Bound Brook to the junction of the two 
branches, stood on the edge of this upland, and there our principal farm houses are 
still found standing. 

Exceptons are, however, mentioned, in three instances, of huts standing on the 
meadows, inhabited by Scotch people. Two north of the late residence of R. 
Veghte (now owned by J. B. Duke) and one near the former dwelling of H. H. Gar- 
retson (now occupied by G H. Miller), but we cannot imagine how they could have 
been inhabited for more than one summer. Our beautiful river has a habit of inun- 
dating all its meadows in the winter, which would make living on them extremely 
inconvenient, if not utterly impossible. The Indians, themselves, left their corn 
lands on them after a time in disgust, " because the spring freshets spoiled the ripe 
grain stowed in pits." They lacked sense enough, it seems, to carry it out of the 
way of the waters and went off in disgust. 

We may imagine then, how the lonely river flowed on for centuries between its 
willow-fringed banks, from summer to winter, while the rich grass on its meadows 
wasted because there were np animals, except a few deer, who fed upon it ; and how 
the wild fruits afforded feasts for the squirrel and the forest bird, or perished 
untouched, because there was no living creature present to enjoy the bountiful pro- 
fusion. It might almost, without romance, be called a " retired paradise," but with- 
out its " Ethiopian Emperor " to rule over it. That it remained untrodden so long, 
is certainly marvellous, unless the few white men in the country, and the distance 
from New York made it too great an effort to reach such an inviting place. From 
1624, when the Dutch began to colonize in America, until 1681, May 4, when the 
first land title is dated, a period of fiftv-seven years, no one seems to have known or 
been attracted by the beauty and fertility of our wide spreading valley, or ventured 
to endeavor to reclaim it from its wild, untrodden wilderness state. Its primitive 
inhabitants even had deserted it almost entirely and gone towards the sea shore, 
attracted by the oysters and fish, and only bird and beast claimed it as their home. 
But the time came for a different state of things to begin to exist. Some merchants 
in New York heard of its attractions, and took measures to secure titles to its lands. 
Some of these " first things " leading to occupation and settlement will be related 
in subsequent chapters. 



No. II-THE FIRST LAND TITLE. 



FROM the time that the Holhinders first established themselves on Manhattan 
Island, until 1681, the valley of the Raritan remained almost entirely in the 
undisturbed possession of its aboriginal owners. An occasional boat, contain- 
ing men who were bent on trading with the savages, had a few times entered the 
lower part of the river ; and once, a warlike expedition had ascended as far as what 
was once known as Martin's Dock, two miles below the city of New Brunswick, 
and reached Piscataway, the seat or residence of the Raritan King, burning his 
town and slaying at least several of his subjects. 

But nothing had been done to bring its fertile lands into cultivation. Even the 
Indians had deserted their corn lands in this vicinity, "because of the spring 
freshets." In the year we have mentioned, however, the attention of speculators 
was drawn to them. On the 4th day of May, 1681, the first land title in Somerset 
county was secured. It was made by two Raritan Indians — Konackama and Quero- 
mak. The consideration was one hundred pounds paid them in goods, the receipt of 
which from Philip Carteret, Governor of New Jersey, was acknowledged on the deed 
itself. The individuals to whom it was granted, were Philip Carteret, John Palmer of 
Staten Island, Gent., Gabriel Minville, Thomas Codrington, John White, John Dela 
valle, Richard Hall and John Royce, of the city of New York. The land embraced in 
it extended from the mouth of the rivulet, now called Bound Brook, and by the natives 
Sacunk ; thence along the Raritan river on the north side to a brook called Raw- 
eighweros — Middlebrook — and from thence northward to a certain Stony Hill ; 
thence easterly to Metapes Wigwam, at the mouth of Cedar Brook, where it 
unites with Green Brook, and thence southerly along Bound Brook to the place of 
beginning. This purchase included all the land now covered by the village of 
Bound Brook up to the mountain, and west to Middlebrook, and was named by the 
Indians Rakahova-walaby. It was divided into five portions ; John Royce had 877 
acres; Thomas Codrington 877 acres next to him ; the Proprietors 1 170 acres next to 
Bound Brook ; Thomas Codrington 1,000 on the rear, next to Chimney Rock and the 
mountain. The remainder, north of the plot, belonging to the Proprietors, was not 
surveyed immediately and entered, and we cannot therefore, designate the owners. 

The deed is recorded at Amboy, in L. I. page 146, and may still be seen by the 
antiquary. We have been thus specific, because it marks the time when civilization 
and the enterprise of improvement entered the precincts of old Somerset. We may 
wonder why so long a time as that which elapsed between 1609 and i68r, should 
have intervened, but we must remember that all great things are small in their be- 
ginnings, and often long delayed in their progress. 

The first deed introduces us to some names which have an historical interest. 
Codrington settled on the west side of the plot — of which he was part owner— on the 
banks of Middlebrook, and became a man of extensive influence in the county. His 
name is still borne by some of the inhabitants of Somerset. The location of his hab- 
itation, called Racawackahana, may be indicated by saying, it was recently owned by 
Dan Talmage, Esq. ; it passed soon after the Revolution into the hands of John 



Campbell, a sou of the Duke of Argyle, also a nephew of Lord Neil Campbell, at one 
time Deputy or Lieutenant Governor of East Jersey, and subsequently into others, 
and finally into its present owners. It is one of the three first homesteads formed in 
our county. 

Royce, another of the owners under the first deed, lived first at Piscataway and 
then in what has since been known as Roycefield near the late residence of John 
Staats. He was a merchafat in New York, but came to Somerset county — probably, 
soon after the date of this Indian purchase. He owned or claimed to own, a tract of 
20,000 acres on the south side of the Raritan, about which some dispute existed. 
Andrew Hamilton, the Governor, writes of him in 1700, that " he had an old patent 
which contains 20,000 acres, but because the stations were uncertain and the bound- 
aries would not meet, he addressed the proprietors at tlome for a new patent, which 
he had, and contains about 6,000 for which he was to pay ^5 a year for the whole, 
instead of one half pound per acre, and the proprietors, forgetting to make him sur- 
render his old patent, he now claims 20,000 by it; and so takes away upon Millstone 
river from Mr. Hart, and on the Raritan, from Mr. Plumstead and Mr. Barker, con- 
siderable tracts of land ; so that he uses both patents — the old one if he can, and the 
new one if the old fail him ; it was a great oversight. He is the very leader of the 
troublesome sort of the people, and it is he that infuses the motive in them of hold- 
iog to their Indian titles." This is not favorable altogether to Mr. Royce. He, 
however, managed to maintain his position and influence, and was chosen the same 
year one of the Representatives of New Jersey in the Colonial Legislature ; in his 
office as such, he questioned the authority of Governor Hamilton to call a Legislative 
Assembly — insisting that it was not safe to act without the King's approbation. It 
appears that he had been one of the Council of Hamilton, appointed on his arrival 
and entrance upon office in 1692. His associates were Captain Isaac Kiugsland, 
Captain Andrew Browne, John Innians, David Muddie, James Dundas, Samuel Den- 
nis, John Bishop and Lewis Morris. One of his descendants (it must have been) oc- 
cupied the same position in Governor Franklin's council when the Revolution com- 
menced, and encouraged the capture and supercedure of the Governor when it be- 
came necessary to displace him When the family sold their possessions and when 
they retired, is not known to the present writer. The name is still met with in New York 
City, and is also in existence in Northern New York and in Vermont. John Royce 
was a man of activity and energy in his day, and has left his trace upon our history 
in an unmistakable way. As one of the early pioneers, he is not to be forgotten, 
and ought not be suffered to pass without commanding his appropriate meed of 
praise. He was at all times a man of the people, and could be depended upon when 
resistance to authority was necessary to the defence of their rights. We esteem him 
as a true patriot. 

The other names included among the signers of the deed, with the exception of 
Governor Carteret, do not occur again in any documents or history of which we have 
any knowledge. They were citizens of New York, and, probably, never had any 
other connection with the affairs of our county, except that for a time they had a 
title to a portion of land in it. Nor did Governor Carteret in any special way con- 
nect himself with Somerset. His residence was at Elizabeth, and his only associa- 

laid ioi^^^ "^' '^' ^^ his being a native of the Island of Jersey ; which being under the 

no smaW^"' °^ England, brought him here as a place man. 

■'■' 'h5 



No. Ill— THE SECOND LAND TITLE. 



THE second land title in Somerset county is dated Decett-ber 12, 1681, in the 
same year in which the foregoing was given. It is signed by four Indians, 
viz. : Machote, alias Keneckome, Awips, Negacape and Pamascome. The 
grantees are James Graham, Cornelius Corsen and Samuel Winder. The consider- 
ation is ^120 ; and the boundaries are from Raweighweros (Middlebrook), on both 
sides of the Raritan to a place called Rackahackawae, (apparently according to an 
ancient map), the line between Caleb Miller and the late John M. Mann, and run- 
ning on this line north until it reaches Middlebrook, and down said brook to the 
place of beginning. It included three plots based on the river, and at least five 
north of them along the mountain. 

The first of those west of Middlebrook was assigned to John Palmer and con- 
tained 877 acres. The second belonged to John White, and contained also 877 
acres. The third remained unappropriated ; and on the north R. L. Hooper, Alex- 
ander McDowell, James Hooper, and the "heirs of Hooper," had large possessions. 
The exact amount included in this purchase is not stated, but it contained many 
broad acres, and would now be a princely inheritance. Somerville stands on it ; and 
besides this, more than thirty farms, whose fertility is unsurpassed by any portion of 
the county of Somerset, were included in its wide extent. 

None of the original purchasers of this plot seem to have permanent connection 
with New Jersey, except Winder and Graham. Winder resided originally on Staten 
Island, but about this date, or soon after, he married a daughter of Governor Rud- 
yard and resided at Cheesequake, in Monmouth county. At the close of his life he 
lived at Perth Amboy. He was a man of influence in the province, and composed 1 
one of the council, chosen by Lord Neil Campbell, when he assumed the govern- 
ment of East Jersey in 1686. Thomas Codriugton, of whom we have heretofore ' 
spoken, was another one of the members of the same council ; the others were 
Gawen Lawrie, and Major John Berry, of Bergen, Isaac Kingsland, of New Barba- 
does, Captain Andrew Hamilton, of Perth Amboy, Richard Townley, of Elizabeth- 
town, and David Mudie and John Johnstone also of Perth Amboy. 

On this plot of laud the earliest permanent settlements along this part of the 
Raritan, were formed. According to the declaration of John Worth, of Elizabeth- 
town, Codriugton, Royce, White, Peter Van Neste, Jerome Van Neste, the Tunisons 
and Graham came and located here sixty years previous to 1741, or in i68r, the very 
year this land was bought. The residences of Royce and Codriugton we have already 
designated. The Van Neste house was, it is said, on the very spot now occupied by 
DuMont P'relinghuysen's residence, and the TunisonsJocated where John C. Garret- 
son now resides (now occupied by Mr. Case). But the residence of Graham we have 
not ascertained. He was a prominent man in the Province — more than once a ^ 
ber of the executive council, and he resided in the county somewhere on thf"*^ 
He was a man of influence in those days, and yet he may not have remaitT "^ ^ 
length of time on the Raritan. At all events, his names does not occur againl°^ ^^^° 
historical documents with which we have formed acquaintance, refering to l' 



gress of events in the county. Jerome Van Neste and Peter Van Neste settled per- 
manently on the Raritan, and their descendants are yet among our most respectable 
citizens. 

But the original farm on which they first located has now for many years been 
in other possessors' hands. The Tunisons, Cornelius and John, came here from Fort 
Orange, now Albany, and were originally from the vicinity of Utrech, in Holland. , 
The name is found early in colonial annals and was prominent in more than one 
way, and it has become widely extended in our State. They were respectable from 
the beginning. When the First Church of Raritan was organized on the ninth day 
of March, 1699, John Tunisoawas elected the first Elder, and Peter Van Neste the 
first Deacon. On the Saturday previous Jerome Van Neste had a daughter named 
Judith baptized, and Peter Van Neste also a daughter Jaquemnia. The place where 
these services were held must have been at the house of either Tunison or Van Neste, 
probably the latter ; and if so it would determine that the organization of the First 
Church was effected where DuMont Frelinghuysen, Esq., now resides. From all the 
circumstances, we think this is almost certain. 

If we should attempt to realize the state of things existing at that time it might 
not vary very much from the following imaginary picture: Four small dwellings, com- 
posed of logs, standing not far from the smooth flowing river, in contracted spaces 
of cleared land, with a dense forest all around them, unbroken and almost impene- 
trable, are the only human habitations in all the wide space now so thickly in- 
habited. Along the riverside, in the lowlands, there were some open spaces on 
which the Indians had practiced their rude efforts to raise a little corn and a few 
beans and pumpkins. Here hay could be mowed, or the cattle might find pasture. 
There plenty of game abounded ; but all of what we may now regard as the neces- 
saries of life beside these were hard to be obtaiued. Perth Amboy or Elizabeth- 
town, or perhaps luians Ferry, now New Brunswick, might supply some of them, but 
certainly not many. The roads had been cut out of the dense forest, aad were diffi- 
)cult of passage with any wheel carriages, provided they had such things, which is 
I not very probable. They may have been lonely sometimes, but they had the com- 
g fort of having ample space for the energies ; and they had no bad neighbors to annoy 
I them. But they began a great work by laying the foundations of agriculture, com- 
/merce, religion and education for future generations. They must have been earnest 
I men, full of self-reliance, and yet not anticipating much of what has since been 
I realized. The Van Neste's came here from Long Island, and had been in the country 
I from an early day. A Peter Van Neste came to New Amsterdam as early as 1647. 
He was the common ancestor of all those who at prt. sent bear the name. The 
family had some prominence in Holland in the time of William the Silent. One 
i Van Neste was employed by him in Spain to give him notice of Phillip's plans 
and purposes ; and what is more wonderful, he copied every night whatever Phillip 
i had written during the day relating to the affairs in Holland, and sent it to William. 
He continued to do this for several years, and yet escaped from Spain with his head 
on his shoulders. Those who know how suspicious the tyrant of Spain was will never 
think it any less than a miracle, or at least a special influence of a watchful Provi- 
dence that protected him. So much depended upon William being able to circum- 
vent Phillip that the Almighty, it would seem, allowed him to fall into the snare 
laid for him and all his secrets to be betrayed to his enemy. It must have demanded 
no 3mall amount of circumspection to circumvent such a suspicious mastor of craft 
anc* fo deceive him for so long a time ; the success shows how much was ventured 
in iho e evil days from the purest patriotism. If any clue to his practices had been 



obtained the most cruel and painful death would have been immediate punishment. It 
may even have had something to do with the emmigation of the first Van Neste to New 
Netherlands, for such a man was never safe while Phillip lived. He came to America 
the same year in which Frederick Henry Stadthold and Prince of Orange died, and 
when the troubles at home were by no means settled. But whether the emmigrant 
was in any way connected with the agent of William of Orange we cannot determine. 
Perhaps he was only a farmer and sought our shores with a view of bettering his 
worldly estate. The first emigrant settled on Long Island thirty- four years before 
Peter Van Neste came to Raritan, and bore the same name. A part of the original 
farm was sold subsequently to the church, and on it Rev. John Frelinghuysen built 
his house, when he returned from Holland, and succeeded his father, Rev. Theodorus 
Jacobus Frelinghuysen, in the church of Raritan. It remained in possession of the 
church until after the resignation of the Rev. John Duryea, in 1799, when it was sold 
to pay the debt which was owing him by the disaffected in the church. Another of 
the name was "Vice Admiral" under DeRuyter, in 1666, and fought the British 
under the Earl of Albemarle off the North Foreland, in which engagement the most 
astonishing endurance was manifested, and the ships of Van Neste's and Van Tromp 
were entirely disabled and had to be abandoned, but neither of them thought of 
giving up the fight. The next year Van Neste blockaded the mouth of the Thames, 
while DeRuyter was threatening the British coast. 

At what dates the subsequent settlers on this grant came we are not informed. 
It would be great labor to trace down to the present even a few of the principal 
owners of the soil. We might, indeed, give a catalogue of names, but this would be 
no information. There were few before 1701. 



No. IV.— THE THIRD LAND TITLE. 



THE third purchase of land in Somerset county is dated November 19, 1681, and 
extended from the west line of the former plot, that is, from the east side of 
the land formerly owned by John M. Mann, to the foot of the mountain at 
Pluckamin ; and on the Raritan, the west line was the west point of the island in 
front of R. H. Veghte's property ; thence running north until it intersected a west 
line from the point of the mountain where the east line terminated. It embraced 
all the land between Caleb Miller's property on the east, and the old Patterson farm 
on the west, and extended north nearly up to the village of Pluckamin — a broad 
and valuable tract, including some of the most beautiful farms in our vicinity ; and 
on it, on Peters brook, stood the old Van Neste mansion, in which " Prince George" 
lived and died, but which has recently been demolished. 

The Indians selling it were called Pawark and Manansamit, and the purchaser 
was Robert Van Quillen. It included the island before mentioned, which was 
known by the Indian name of Matanique. 

The whole splendid plot of rich land, when surveyed, was divided into six por- 
tions. On the east side, joining the river, Graham and Winder had 1,900 acres ; 
north of them, Samuel Winder had 500 ; north of this, D. D. Dunstar owned 7,600 
acres. Returning again to the river, John Robinson had 660, Archibald Riddle 300; 
north of his plot Sir John Dalrymple, 500; leaving a large plot north of it still 
unappropriated. 

Who were the first settlers on this tract of land, and where the first house or 
houses were erected, we are not advised. It is probable, however, that it was either 
where John M. P«Iann lived, or where the residence of Jacob B. and Theodore F. 
Cornell is at present located. The large plot of low land south of these points was 
a favorite corn ground of the Indians and had no forest on it, and was called by 
them Racka-wacka-hack. 

At a very early period theCoejcnan property was purchased (probably before 
1700) and the Middagh house, afterwards J. M. Mann's, is mentioned by John Law- 
rence as being on the line between East and West Jersey which he ran in 1719 ; and 
the large white oak tree still standing on the east side of the house was marked by 
him as being in that line. 

Another mark of the same line is still visible in a stone planted on the south 
bank of the river by the roadside, nearly in front of the house which John V. Veghte 
erected for bis own residence, now the property of J. B. Duke, previous to remov- 
ing to his father's. This line is called the " Ouintipartite line," and extended from 
Little Egg Harbor to a point on the Delaware in 41 degrees latitude. It was made 
for the purpose of dividing the claims of Sir George Carteret and the assigns of 
Lord Berkeley, and divided the Province of New Jersey into East and West Jersey ; 
a division continuing as long as the Proprietary Government lasted. 

The Coejman family came here as early as 1736. They were Hollanders, but 
came to the Raritan from Coejmans, on the Hudson river. Two brothers and their 



10 

mother originally emigrated from Holland and purchased a large tract of land on 
the Hudson, known as " The Coejman Patents." One of the brothers subsequently 
came to Raritan and built the ancient brick house still standing in the town of Rari- 
tan. It was a very large and expensive mansion for that day. When they moved into 
it, it is said, they brought "a wheelbarrow load of silver plate." Staats Coejman, an 
ofEcer in the navy, some sixty years since, we believe to have been the last male 
descendant. Many years since, the writer of these notes spent a night in the old 
Coejman mansion on the Hudson, and saw the full length portrait of the Lady 
Coejman, which is preserved there. In a little Dutch bed in a large room in the 
second story of the old brick house, we dreamed of the olden times, and had many 
visions of stately dames in ruffs and high heels and stays passing before our mind. 
It was quite a romance in our young life, and the memory of that night has never 
been defaced. It brought the past nearer than we had ever realized it before. 

Robert Van Quillen, the purchaser of this third tract on the Raritan, figures 
quite largely in our early history. His character, however, is somewhat dubious. 
He may be called a Frenchified Dutchman, or perhaps more properly, a Dutchified 
Frenchman. He is represented as being a native of Caen, in France, and called De 
La Prie, and again La Prie. He was Surveyor General of the Province of Kast New 
Jersey for some time, and naturalized March 8, 1669 Beside his valuable possession 
on the Raritan, he had at an earlier date located for himself a large tract of land 
south of the Raritan, opposite Perth Amboy, which one of the early Scotch settlers 
speaks of as being " but mean land." His purchase of the Indians on the Raritan, 
was on speculation, and he did not long retain the title of his possessions, and never 
lived in Somerville. His residence was at Elizabethtown. 

He was one of Governor Carteret's first council, in 1668, having as his associ- 
ates Captain Nicholas Verlett, Daniel Pierce, Robert Bond and Samuel Edsall. In 
1674, during the administration of Governor Colve, he is reported as having carried 
away a variety of goods from the house of Governor Carteret, in Elizabethtown, 
which he declined to restore ; whereupon an order was issued from Fort William 
Henry, in New York, for his arrest, in company with one Singleterry, to be brought 
before the Governor. The explanation given, is, that he held the goods out of 
friendship to Governor Carteret, and in his interest ; which is probable since Car- 
teret had been, as it is now conceded, unjustly expelled from his rights as proprietor 
and Governor under the Duke of York's grant, and was soon after restored to his 
former position. When such restoration had taken place, in 1674, Van Guillen was 
appointed one of his council, together with Captain John Berry, William Sanford 
and John Pike, and Messrs. Lawrence Anderson and John Bishop, Sr. ; Robert Bol- 
len being Secretary of the Board. He seems also to have been concerned in the 
Elizabethtown purchase, as appears from the oath of Jeremiah Osborn, appended to 
the Elizabethtown bill in Chancery. In fact he was a greedy, grasping land specu- 
lator. 

Though owning lauds along the Raritan, his residence was constantly at Eliza- 
bethtown, which had become not only the home of the Governor and the place 
where the Legislature met, but besides, a place of considerable importance, com- 
prising within its limits at least 700 inhabitants, with 40,000 acres of land under cul- 
tivation. The Governor is said to have had a house, orchard and farm within the 
town limits, indicating that he was surrounded with all the comforts possible in a 
new settlement. 

One of the very best plantations embraced in this third purchase, was owned at 
the opening of the Revolution by a lawyer named Peregrine Lagrange, who, from 



11 

conviction and choice, took the part of the British Government in the conflict which 
ensued. As a consequence his property was confiscated and sold at public auction. 
It was purchased by William Patterson, afterwards Governor of the State, and one of 
Justices of the Supreme Court of the United States, or soon after came into his pos- 
session, and is still known as " The Patterson Farm," and on it he resided for several 
years. The farm is above Raritan and is now occupied by Henry S. Long. 

Here, in a stone house, some eighty years ago, Mrs. Van Rensellar, wife of 
General Stephen Van Rensellar, commonly known as the " Patroon of Albany," 
was born and grew up to early girlhood. She retained a vivid and grateful memory 
of the old home on the Raritan, and after the death of her husband intended to pur- 
chase it and make it her residence, but being urged by her daughters first to accom- 
pany them for a year to France, she returned only to die in a few months after reach- 
ing her home in Albany, and the purpose failed. It is one of the instances which 
prove the power of early associations. Probably when she came to seethe old home 
stead she would have been greatly disappointed and deterred from carrj'ing out her 
intentions. 

Dirk Middagh resided on the place owned by Caleb Miller (the Wallace House), 
as early as 1699, and his name is amoug the first on the Church records. It was 
one of the most desirable locations on the Raritan, overlooking those beautiful 
meadows which lay south between it and the river. The old white oak tree, already 
referred to, standing on the east side of the house, is a memorial of the olden time. 
It stood there in 1743, one hundred and twenty seven years since. When John 
Lawrence marked it as in the Quintipartite line, it was already a large tree, and it 
ought to be left standing as long as vitality remains in it, as .% landmark of the past. 
When Lawrence came to the south side of the river it was evening, and he sought 
for quarters for the night. He was promised accommodations in the house of a Mr. 
Fulkerson (who lived near the Somerville cemetery), but when he came there, the 
good wife did not relish the idea of admitting strangers to her domicile, and scolded 
her husband to such a degree that Lawrence thought best to decamp, and he went 
back towards Roycefield, where he found a house without a scolding dame and slept 
in peace. He gives quite an amusing account in his journal of his disappointment 
and of the lady who occasioned it. 



No. v.— THE FOURTH LAND TITLE. 



THE fourth purchase of land from the Indians on the Raritan extended from the 
western boundary of the last mentioned plot up to the junction of the north 
and south branches. This place was called by the natives Tuck-arama-hack. 
ing. From this point the line ran east of north to a place nearly equi-distant between 
t the North Branch and Lamington rivers, at or near what was the late turnpike 
bridge above Burnt Mills ; thence due east until it met the line of the former pur- 
chase, and thence south to the place of beginning. The aboriginal owners conveying 
this land are called Pawark, Cowalanuck, Manamasamet and Agnamapamund. The 
purchasers were John Robinson, William Pinhorn, Richard Jones and Matthew Tay- 
lor. The consideration was " certain goods mentioned in the deed," and the date 
November 19, 1681. 

This plot was afterwards surveyed and divided as follows : William Pinhorn had 
deeded to him March 8, 1697, 500 acres on the east side and 160 on the Raritan river ; 
Lord Neil Campbell January 9, 16S5, had 1650 acres — embracing all the land between 
Pinhorn and the junction of the two branches, and extending north as far as Pinhorn's 
grant extended. Immediately north of these two grants and including all that 
remained on the east side of North Branch, William Ackman had 400 acres ; Archi- 
bald Riddle 300, and Sir John Dalrymple 500 acres. The land on the west side was 
taken by John Johnson, while Lord Neil Campbell appropriated to himself another 
1,000 acres, and other smaller proprietors, whose deeds extended west and embraced 
land beyond the western line of the Indian grant and reached the present boundary' of 
Branchburgh township, took the balance. Their names were Michael Hawden, George 
Willocks, Miles Foster and Thomas Gordon, and their deeds all bear the date of 1703. 

None of the individuals who had, in this way, become proprietors of land, 
occupied their possessions except Lord Neil Campbell. Matthew Taylor is not men- 
tioned again ; Pinhorn resided on the Passaic river near Belleville, and was a man 
of some note in his day. He was a member of Governor Basse's council in 1698 from 
Bergen county. His associates were Thomas Codrington of Somerset and Thomas 
Warne, of Middlesex. He was also interested with Kingsland and Berry in settling 
and cultivating lands on what has long been known as Barbadoes Neck, but more 
recently, Rutherford Paik — a man of intelligence, culture and talents, probably an 
emigrant from the Island of Barbadoes, whence Kingsland and Berry had come. 

Lord Neil Campbell was a brother of the Duke of Argyleaud was concerned with 
him in the unfortunate expedition in favor of the " handsome Duke of INIonmouth," 
the son of Charles II, and Lucy Warters, besides being himself implicated in an 
enterprise which proved a desperate failure, and sent scores of honest and honorable 
men to a premature and bloody grave. He had two sons, John and Archibald, 
already in New Jersey, who had been also compromised in the same unfortunate 
rebellion against government. John is mentioned as early as 1685, with his wife and 
three children and eleven servants, as a resident in New Jersey. He was the owner 
of 1,870 acres of land on the west side of South Branch, beginning , near Corle's 



V_ 



13 

Mills and extending west to the township Hue. John Campbell, with John Dobie, 
John Drumond and Andrew Hamilton owned all the land from Holland's brook up 
to where the west line of Branchburg meets the South Branch. Their deeds are 
dated November 9, 1685, the autumn of the year in which he had left Scotland. But 
it is not known to the present writer that he ever resided on this land. 

Lord Neil Campbell was appointed Deputy Governor by the proprietors of East 
Jersey for two years oa the 4th of June, 16S5, and reached the Province in the ensu- 
ing October. His residence probably was on his plantation on the banks of the 
Raritan ; the property is now owned by Stephen E. Garretson. He had sent 65 ser- 
vants to settle on it the year previous to his coming. He must have arrived in Sep- 
tember. On ihe 5th of October his commission was read, and on the i8th his council 
named. It consisted of Gawen Lawrie, Major John Berry of Bergen, Isaac Kings- 
land of New Barbadoes, Captain Andrew Hamilton of Perth Amboy, Richard 
Townley of Elizabeth, Samuel Winder of Cheesequakes, David Mudie, and John. 
Johnson of Perth Amboy and Thomas Codrington of Raritan. 

But whatever motives may have induced Lord Neil Campbell to come to New 
Jersey and assume the administration of its affairs, his stay was verj' short. On the 
loth of December he appointed Anthony Hamilton his substitute, being, it is said, 
constrained by " the urgent necessity of some weighty affairs " to return to Scotland. 
What were " the weighty affairs " and what the necessity of attending to them is not 
explained. He remained, however, permanently in his Scottish home and left his 
interests here to be attended to by his sons. If his absence was intended to be tem- 
porary, it was a disappointment, for it proved to be perpetual. The reason of it is 
not apparent. The a.spect of things had probably changed in Scotland, or else some 
important pecuuiary interest required his attention there. He had beej^ appointed, 
no doubt, so far as the proprietors were concerned, as a matter of policy, and it had 
succeeded, to a certain extent at least, for it had induced emigration to some extent. 
There are references in the records of the Province to the following persons as 
having emigrated and settled permanently about this tipie, viz : December 16, 1684, 
Gawen Lawrie and eight persons ; William Haize and eight persons ; the Proprie- 
tors, twenty-two, besides two overseers ; Captain Thomas Pearson, November 24, 
1684, fourteen; William Dockwra, December 14, 1684, twenty four ; and subse- 
'jueutly ten , more ; John Barclay, six, in 1683 ; Robert FuUerton, nine ; John 
Campbell, eight ; Andrew Hamilton, ten ; David Mudie, seventeen ; Lord Neil 
Campbell, fifty six ; James Johnson, nine ; John Forbes, four ; George Keith, six ; 
Charles Gordon, five ; in all, nearly 200 persons. These emigrants remained, and 
many of them became afterwards prominent men in the affairs of the Province. 
Abjut the same time, also, George Scot, of Pitlochie, wrote and published a work 
entitled "The Model of the Government of East Jersey in America,'' in which great 
encouragement was attempted to be given to emigration to that beautiful and 
romising region. There is a curious conveyance on record (says Whitehead) under 
ate of December 16, 1684, by which one Moneybaird makes over to John Campbell, 
^jhe son of Lord Neil Campbell, all his interest in Perth Amboy, "on consideration 
^{ the said Campbell's sending a footman in velvet to wait on Moneybaird during 
arliament in New Jersey, and holding his stirup. " Great things were expected, 
nd there were men who saw visions in those days, as in our more humdrum and 
loney-getting age — greater things than will ever be realized. Archibald Campbell, 
nother son of Lord Neil Campbell, came to New Jersey in 1684, immediately after 
le unfortunate termination of his uncle's expedition. He had been engaged in 
Riis raid from the Highlands, as well as his father. Two sons of Argyle, John and 



J' 



14 



Charles and their cousin, the Archibald Campbell of whom we are writing, were 
sentenced to death and forfeiture of estate, but the sentence was afterwards so far 
modified as to remit the penalty of death. Archibald Campbell died in May 1702. 
and it is uncertain whether he left any children. John had died before him, in 
December 1689, leaving one son and two daughters. John Campbell, who bmlt and 
owned the Herbert Mills, and Alexander Campbell, who lived on the Codington (now 
George LaMonte) place, were descendants. There is an old bell used in the old 
Academy of Bound Brook which belonged to Campbell. It has an inscription dated 
1734 at Amstereodam (Amsterdam), and is a valuable relic of the olden times. It 
is said that Archibald Campbell used it in calling in his slaves from their field 
labors He lived in baronial style on Herbert's Island and called it Kell's Hall, and 
employed a numerous company of men and maidens in his house and farm labors^ 
The plantation of Lord Neil Campbell, on the Raritan, in process of time passed 
into the hands of William Cook ; then John Elmendorf inherited it, and left it to his 
son Peter who sold it to George McBride. The latter died and left it to his brother, 
William C McBride, of whom it was purchased by S. E Garretson. Immediately east 
of this farm, a Mr. Potter, of Philadelphia, owned some four hundred acres of land. 
It passed from bim into the hands of John Simonson, Esq., and is now owned in 
part bvithe heirs of Peter Staats. A portion of it the late Guisbert B Vroom, of 
New York, purchased, and his family resided there for some time after his death. 



i 



No. VI.— OTHER LAND GRANTS. 



ON the west side of South Branch, commencing at Holland's brook and proceed- 
ing south, there were five deeds given, each one extending west to the Branch- 
burg township line, viz : First, April 25, 1687, to Andrew Hamilton, 510 
acres ; next, John Drummond, 1,000 acres, November 9, 1685 ; next, Andrew Hamil- 
on, same date, 750 acres ; next, John Campbell, one of the sons of Lord Neil 
Campbell, same date, 1,874 acres ; next, John Dobie, same date, 395 acres, which 
brings us up to the South Branch and the intersection of the township line, in other 
words, to " the Hookie." West of this line and south of the river, was all included 
in "the Lotting purchase," which extended up to the "New Jersey Society's 
lands.'' That purchase included the Cushetonk Hills (Pickle's Mountain), Round 
Vallej', and all the land west of the Delaware. 

Beginning again at Holland's brook, north side, there were twelve plots of laud 
surveyed, and the deeds were given to the following persons, viz : First, to Andrew 
Hamilton, October 13, 1689, 250 acres; next, Hendrick Corsen, June 10, 1688, 500; 
next, Thomas Gordon, 500, May 10, 1703, and in the meantime Peter Van Nest 
seems to have been the owner of the previous 500 acres of Thomas Gordon 
for the plot is said to begin at the Van Nest corner ; next. Miles Foster had 466, and 
the deed dated the same as the former ; next, Michael Hawden, 466 acres, same 
date ; next, George Willocks, 466 acres, same date ; next, Lord Neil Campbell, 1,000 
May 24, 1690 ; next, John Johnson, a small plot of 61 acres ; and again, John John- 
son, 400, May 10, 1690; and the remainder, running up to the Lamington River 
and west to the township line, belonged to Willocks, Johnson, Campbell and Black- 
wood. On the east side of the North Branch, Ann West owned 912 acres. This 
land passed subsequently into the hands of the famous Duchess of Gordon, who 
married General Staats Morris, a brother of Gouverneur Morris, and this ownership 
has been the occasion of that neighborhood being called " the Duchess." 

Between Lamington River and North Branch, Major Daniel Axtell owned a 
large and valuable tract of land, out of which Campbell and Blackwood purchased 
3,900 acres in 1693; Margaret Winder, 1,000, on May 20, 1690; Johnson and 
Willocks, 3,150, June 6, 1701. This last survey included all the lands in the Peapack 
valley ; and finally Andrew Hamilton obtained a deed for 875 acres, on Lamitunk 
February 25, 1740. This brings us to the Morris county line. 

The land north of Somerville, embracing the first and second mountains and 
the valley between them, beginning at or near Pluckamin, was deeded to Alexander 
McDowell, December 12, 1727 ; and Margaret Tiepel, John Parker, Judiah Higgins, 
and others, owned all the remainder to a point directly north of Bound Brook. 
North of the mountains, on Dead River, Parker, Hooper, George Riscarick, Joseph 
Jennings, Nathaniel Rolph and others owned lauds. Northeast of Bound Brook, 
and between the mountains, David Cosart, Daniel Hollinshead, the heirs of Anthony 
Sharp and others had in possession large tracts. South of the Passaic, William 
Dockwra and Robert Barclay had 2,000 acres. Robert Morris, in trust for Ashfield's 



16 

estate, D. D. Dunstar and James Alexander were large owners in the same vicinity. 
Their purchases dated October, 1742 ; and Dunstar and Alexander and Budd and 
Alexander extended their titles up north, into Morris county. 

On the south side of Raritan we have no certain means of knowing by whom 
and when the first lands were purchased. Plempstead's patent, it is said, included 
the whole space from Millstone River to the island above Raritan, and he must have 
sold to the first settlers— Bogart, Garretson and others Peter Dumont had purchased 
land on the Raritan before 1690 ; Michael Van Vechten was living on his plantation 
on the north side, below Somerville, September 19, 1699, now owned by Bernhard 
Myer, late Whitenack & Horning. Frederick Garretson was already an inhabitant 
somewhere in this vicinity the same year. Derrick Middagh also lived on his farm 
at the same date. Coers Vroom was here about the same time. John Wortman and 
David Alleyn (probably Allen in our day), and Jacob Sebring were here also before 
1700. The next year Isaac Bodine, John Otman and Maurice Maurison are found 
recording their names in the baptismal record of the Church. Where really each 
one of the above named individuals lived we are not able to say. But it will be 
remarked, that with the exception of Otman and Maurison, the other names have 
continued to be as formerly — respectable citizens of Somerset county, even until 
the present time. 

A remark seems here to be called for. It will be seen by adverting to the names 
of the original owners of land, by Indian purchases along the Raritan, that they 
appear to have been nearly all Scotchmen, and that none of them really became 
permanent residents. The explanation is this : The principal and most active pro- 
prietors of East New Jersey were inhabitants of Scotland, and their efforts to 
induce emigration and settlements upon their lands were made in their native 
country. As the effcfct of this, Perth Amboy was fixed upon as a site for a town and 
was named New Perth ; and from thence settlements of people from Scotland and 
England spread out northwest and west as far as Scotch Plains, Plainfield and Bound 
Brook, and single families even farther. From this immigration the churches of 
Bound Brook, Basking Ridge and Lamington proceeded. It was an influx coming 
:s. almost entirely directly from Scotland; and the first pastors of these churches were all 
native Scotchmen — Scotch Presbyterians of the Knox, Rutherford and Erskine stamp. 
Besides this, there were several families of German origin, and of the Lutheran 
Church, who settled about Pluckamin. The beginning of this influx is probably 
marked by one of the land titles which we have given above — that of Margaret 
Teiple, 1727. The Lutherans built at an early day a house of worship in the village 
of Puckamin, and in connection with New Germantown and German Valley engaged 
the services of a minister, or ministers, of their own denomination for a term of 
years. General Muhlenbergb, in his youth, it is stated, ministered to them for a 
time. The church remained standing as late as 1825, or possibly later. Its cemetery 
has long been a memorable spot. It contains the grave of a young English oSicer 
who was wounded and taken prisoner at the battle of Princeton, January 3, 1777. 
He was carried on a litter from the battle field to the porch of the hotel at Plucka- 
min, and expired there before preparations made for his comfort were completed. 
Many years afterwards Dr. Rush, of Philadelphia, caused a marble slab to be erected 
at the head of his grave, with the following inscription : " In memory of the Hon. 
Captain William Leslie, of the 17th British Regiment, son of the Earl of Leven, in 
Scotland. He fell January 3, 1777, aged 26 years, at the battle of Princeton. His 
friend, Benjamin Rush. M. D., of Philadelphia, has caused this stone to be erected 
as a mark of esteem for his worth and respect for his noble family." A few years 



17 

since money was sent ou from Scotland and a stone wall was erected on the front to 
enclose the consecrated ground, though it had been greatly encroached on ; and 
since then the Presbyterian Church has beeu built upon a part of it. 

The grave of Captain Leslie is directly northwest of the church. This spot will 
continue to be a locality of deep interest to the historian and antiquary as long as 
any vestige of the stone which marks the grave of Captain Leslie remains. Thousands 
have visited it, and thousands more will do so in time to come. A pity it is the " old 
school house," mentioned in Revolutionary annals, had not also been kept up; or 
at least its location certainlj' fixed, for it was greatly honored on one occasion, at 
least, during the winter of 1778 and 1779. To celebrate the alliance with France, a 
ball was gotten up by the officers of the army encamped in the vicinitj' and graced 
by Washington and his lady, Hamilton, LaFayette and other celebrities. It must 
have been a high day (or night) to the sober people of Pluckamin. General 
Washington led off the dance with Miss Schuyler, afterwards Mrs. Alexander Hamil- 
ton, and the officers and their ladies kept it up until the noon of night had passed. 
Pluckamin never saw such another day so memorable in the proud names which 
were present and acted in that festive scene. There was a full report of the grand 
event given in the New Jersey Gazette, published at Trenton, and dated from 
Pluckamin a few days after. A series of this important weekly paper, embracing 
the events of the Revolution, can be found in the New Jersey Historical Society at 
Newark. It was presented to the society by Miss Catharine Veghte, of Riverside, 
Raritan, and had been preserved ou file by her father. 



I 

I 



No. VII.— SOME OF THE FIRST SETTLERS ON 
THE RARITAN. 



ON the south side of the Raritan, from the mouth of the Millstone, aud extending 
up the river as far as the Island called Matanique, thence on a line south by 
west about two miles, and east to the Millstone river two miles, was deeded to 
Anthony Brockholls, William Pinhorn, John Robinson, Matthias Nichols and 
Samuel Edsalls. Part of this land, claimed at first by Plumpstead, was finally con- 
firmed to Royce, in 1685, under his disputed grant of 20,000 acres, of which we have 
spoken as being doubtful. The bounds of this plot as given in the deed (see L. A. 
270) were as follows: "Beginning at a place called 'Hunter's Wigwam,' on the 
Millstone river, thence north by west two miles to a fresh brook called Manamta- 
qua ; thence north by east and north east to the Raritan river, opposite the west end 
of a small island formerly belonging to Robert Van Quillen, and now in possession 
of John Robinson, and thence down the Raritan three and one-half miles, and up 
the Millstone to the place of beginning." 

Leaving now the subject of eariy land grants, we proceed to the early inhabi- 
tants. Some of these have been already mentioned, and we find that from 1681 to 1699 
there had arrived and located, from Long Island, the following heads of families, 
mostly of Dutch parentage, viz.: Coers Vroom, Michael Hanson, Andrew Alyn, 
Michael Van Veghten, Dirk Middagh, Frederick Garretson, John Wortman, Peter 
Van Nest, Jereonemus Van Nest, Jacob Sebring, Isaac Bodine, Edward Drink water, 
Ja mes Tu nison, Cornelius Tunison, Pieter Dumont, Maurice Maurison, Johannes 
Dameld, John RoelcfaerT.TJendrick Ryuierson, Thomas Possell, Cornelius Powelson, 
Jan Hans Coeverden, Folkerd Hendrik Harris, Josias Merlet, Andrew Anderson, 
Elton Njeson, William Olden, William Clausen, Lawrence Opdyke, in all thirty 
families. There were others no doubt but we have not been able to obtain their 
names. We are not able to indicate specifically or certainly the place of residence 
of each of these families. The Sebrings and Harrises were in the vicinity of Bound 
Brook. Pieter Dumont lived on the south side of the Raritan ; the Powelsons near 
Pluckamin ; all of them evidently did not remain permanently or leave descendants. 
The names of others continued to occur in the records for many years, but most of 
them have at last passed away. All of them, we judge, were religious men, and 
aided in the formation of the Raritan church, then a church in the wilderness. Most 
of them are known to have imigrated to Somerset from Long Island ; and among 
them there are several names which indicate a Huguenot origin. Somerset county 
has had, in fact, a large infusion of this noble blood ; and among the family tradi- 
tions, in many instances, linger interesting reminiscences of the night of St. Bartholo- 
mew, as the time when they fled from France to Holland, leaving their all behind 
and never looking back ; rescuing only their life, their clothing and their silver from i 
the deadly spoiler. J 

As a matter of curiosity we give a list of Huguenot names once residents on the 



19 

Raritau and in the vicinity of Somerville, viz : Jacob Sebrinji, Isaac Bodyne, Pieter 
Dumont, Johannes Danield, Thomas Possell, Josias Merlette, Gabriel DeBeten, 
William Breille, Jan Lavor, Peter LaFevre, Jacob Rappleyea; Jau LaFar, Fraiis 
Lukas, Isaac Brillue, Pieter Petrie, Edo Montague, Abram Lafoy, Jacob' Probasco, 
John LaVoss, Anton ie LeGran ge, Jan Fonteyne, John Brocauw. 

It would be easy to extendTtese researches even farther and indicate persons, 
localities, and family histories in detail ; but those who delight in these things may 
be gratified by Corwin's Centennial discourse .where many miuutia of great interest 
are to be found. They give great value to that document. 

It would seem as if the first settlers along the Raritan were left in a state of 
almost entire religious destitution for nearly twenty years. There are some notices 
of persons who labored in preaching the Gospel in the vicinity of Perth Amboy and 
Elizabeth, but upon the Raritan no such labors are known to have been permanently 
afforded until March 9, 1699, when the Rev. Gulian Barlholf left a record of his hav- 
ing been at Raritan preaching, ordaining an Elder and a Deacon, and baptizing 
three children, viz.: Judith Van Nest, Abr aham X unison and Jaquemina Van Nest. 
Twent}' years in a wilderness without the Gospel n)ust certainly have left strong 
traces, and these not for good, upon the mind and character of the people so cir- 
cumstanced. 

Some of the inhabitants of Raritan had no doubt occasionally heard the Gospel 
preached on their visits to Long Island. It is a tradition, that often in the autumn, 
after the buckwheat had been threshed and a good strong horse stabled and fed for a 
month previous, two persons, male and female, on this same animal, would start at 
daylight in the morning for the Blazii g Star Ferry, where they crofsed to Staten 
Island, and in the evening, sometimes by moonlight, making their way over the 
narrows they reached their friends at Jamaica, Bushwich or New Utrecht and Graves- 
end. It was regarded as a great journey, and required great preparations to render 
it safe and comfortable, and glad faces there were in the paternal homesteads, when 
children or brothers and sisters who had come so far to greet them, once more arrived. 
It seemed to them almost like the children of Israel coming back from captivity' in 
Babylon. 

Twenty years more and the inhabitants of " Old Raritan," as it was commonly 
called then, felt themselves able to do something for the maintainance of the Chris- 
tian ordinances of the church, and united with others in calling the Rev. Theodorus 
Jacobus Frelinghuysen. About the same time they had commenced the erection of 
a church on the land of Michael Van Veghten, who generously donated the site to the 
congregation, and on the nth of December, 1721, the house was opened for divine 
worship. It continued to be the place where religious services were held until Octo- 
ber 27, 1779, when it was burned by the Queen's Kangers under command of Colonel 
Simcoe. It stood on the north side of the river, a short distance below the old 
bridge. Around it there were a few graves already almost forgotten. But the corn 
and the wheat growing over them, does not disturb the peaceful sleepers in their 
resting place. The principal interest centering now in that almost forgotten ceme- 
tery, is in the circumstance that, in an unknown grave there, rest probably the 
remains of Mrs. Van Burgh, the mother of Juffvrouw Hardenburgh, who came from 
Holland — whither Dr. Hardenburgh had gone for her in 1763— to reside with her 
daughter after the death of her husband, and died in the parsonage, now occupied by 
Joshua Doughty, at Somerville. The year of her decease is not known by any of 
her descendants. If these precious remains are not resting there, then they must 
have been deposited on the bank of the meadows, near the old parsonage, where 



20 

John Hardenburgh, once Sheriff of Somerset county, and son of Dr. J. Rutzen Hard- 
enburgh, and his wife, with others, are buried. But strange as it may seem to us 
there is no monument in either place to commemorate one so loved and honored in 
her life time. 

For half a century after the times of which we have been speaking not much of 
any special interest seems to have occurred along the Raritan. The people were 
industrious and thriving, the church increased in strength under the labors of the 
two Frelinghuysens and Hardenburgh, and society began to be well ordered and law- 
abiding. 

Before the Revolution there were at least eight Dutch churches in the Valley of 
the Raritan and Millstone rivers, viz : At New Brunswick, Six Mile Run, Millstone, 
Harlingen, Raritan, Neshanic, Readington and Bedminster ; besides a Presbyterian 
Church at Bound Brook, a Lutheran Church at Pluckamin, a Presbyterian Church 
at Lamington, and German Reformed church at Amwell. All these had comfortable 
houses of worship and a well ordered discipline. Less than a hundred years had 
passed since the European first established his home on our river and its branches, 
and all this had been done principally by a few emigrants from the old land of 
dykes and marshes, none of whom brought much besides their energies and thrift 
to help them on in life, but they wrought earnestly and saw the effects of their 
thrift spreading around their homes. The county was formed in 1688, orly seven 
years after the Indian titles to its lands were extinguished. Thus all the advantages 
of a well organized civil government were enjoyed, even almost from the first years 
of its settlement, by the inhabitants of Somerset county. The first things were small 
but time has made them large and valuable. 



No. VIII.— SOMERSET COUNTY FORMED. 
ITS LAWS EXECUTED. 



FROM the time that the first settlers came to the Raritan until 1688 they were 
considered as included in Middlesex and dependent upon the courts there for 
the administration of civil justice. The act providing for a new county, and 
naming it Somerset, is a curious piece of primitive legislation. It recites in the 
preample, " Forasmuch as the uppermost part of the Raritan River is settled by 
persons, whom, in their husbandry, and manuring their lands, are forced upon 
quite different ways and methods from the other farmers and inhabitants of Middle- 
sex county, because of the frequen*. floods that carry away their fences on the 
meadows, the only arable land they have, and so, by consequence of their interests, 
are divided from the other inhabitauts of said county ; be it therefore enacted," etc. 
The bounds are described in the following manner: "Beginning at the mouth of 
the Bound Brook, where it empties into the Raritan River, and to run up the said 
brook to the meeting of Bound Brook with Green Brook, and from the said meeting 
to ruu a northwest line into the hills ; and upon the southwest side of the Raritan 
River, to begin at a small brook, where it empties itself into the Raritan, about 
seventy chains below the Bound Brook, and from thence to run up a southwest line 
to the uttermost line of the Province." 

If these boundaries had continued unamended and unaltered it would have 
been diflScult to tell where Somerset County did not extend ; but subsequent acts, 
to which we refer our readers, remedied the indefiuiteness of the first description, 
and settled its limits accurately. The original townships seems to have been Bed- 
minster, Bernards, Bridgewater, Franklin and Hillsborough, and were formed in 
1749— patents being granted therefor. The courts were held for awhile at Six Mile 
Run, now Franklin Park ; then until the middle of the Revolution at Millstone ; 
but after the Court House had been burned by Colonel Simcoe in 1779, they were 
removed to Rariian, now Somerville. The first Court House was a small wooden 
building, erected by the Freeholders in connection with the people belonging to the 
First Reformed Dutch Church, for civil occupation and religious worship, and in it 
Dr. Hardenburgh preached twelve years. This church stood upon the property 
now owned and occupied by Franz Schell, on the corner of Main and Mechanic 
streets. After the erection of the present Court House a part of the old one was 
moved and converted into the old store occupied for many years by William J. 
Hedges, now occupied by Dr. R. B. Rapelye, and the " Log Jail " became the west 
end of the house known as the DeCamp house, at the junction of Hamilton street 
with Main, torn down six years ago, in the east end of the village. 

Justice has always been fairly administered in Somerset County, and the laws 
vigorously enforced by the punishment of crime. Perhaps it is owing to this fact 
that so few heinous and capital offenses have been committed within its bounds. It 
is certainly remarkable that in our county during the 210 years of its existence, there 



22 

have been but nine persons executed, and these were nearly all at the same time, 
and soon after the Revolution. We happen to have been privileged with an inspec- 
tion of the "minutes " of the trial in one of these cases, in the docket of Jacob Van 
Ostrand, Esq , a Justice of the Peace in and for the County of Somerset. We pre- 
sent it as a curiosity, and also as being characteristic of the mode of proceeding in 
criminal cases in earlier days. It bears date December i8, 1769, and is entitled 
" An action in regard to J. Castner's Harry and Jeronemous Van Nest, complainant, 
for breaking his negro Jupiter's head. Harry confessed that he had hit him with 
a stand block, a foot square, weighing five or six pounds. Harry told Rynier Van 
Nest that he had killed Jupiter, wherefore I ordered him to be put in jail December 
22, 1769. Jacob Van Ostrand having associated with himself two Justices of the 
Peace, Mr. Ralph Van Home and Mr. Benjamin Morgan, and five Freeholders, viz : 
William Crook, John Vroom, John Baptist Dumont, Samuel Staats Coejman, and 
Matthew Teneyck, Sen., and several witnesses being examined, after having been 
duly sworn, the three Justices and the Freeholders found him guilty of murder, and 
ordered him to be executed on the 31st of December." Singular as such a proceed- 
ing now appears, it was in due form of law, and in full accordance with an act 
passed in 1714. It applied to murders and other offenses, and the penalty was to be 
adjudged according to the enormity of the crime in the judgment of the three 
Justices and five Freeholders. See Neville's Laws, Vol. I, page 19. There was more 
form in this than the Regulators observe, and a little more time given, but certainly 
justice was sufficiently stern and speedy. 

"Tobie," negro slave of Mary Middagh, was ijdicted Tuesday, December 20, 
tried Wednesday, June 21, and hanged Saturday, June 24, 1780 — all inside of a week. 

Samuel McDonald was executed for the murder of John Connet in 1786. 

Again, in 1788, there were two public executions in Somerset county, both 
slaves, and both for setting fire to an outbuilding. September 19, Sam the elder, 
and Sam the younger, slaves of Richard McDonald, were indicted and tried, and 
in October, the same year. Dine, belonging to Pet r Dumont, of Bridgewater. One 
of the negroes was respited, the other was hung in company with Dine on Gallows 
Hill, north of Somerville. 

Two soldiers, also, were hung on Mount Pleasant during one of the winters 
when there was an encampment of part of Washington's army in Somerset. We 
give the account from Thatcher's military journal, who was present in the camp and 
an eye witness of what he relates. The land belonged to Derrick Van Veghten, 
and his patriotism in suffering so much without complaint is commended in an 
obituary notice published after his death. The location of the camp was on the 
slope to the northeast of Mount Pleasant. There was also a cantonment on the 
south side of the residence of Henry H. Garretson, now occupied by George H. 
Miller, where Wayne's Corps was stationed, and went from this point in June to 
storm and take Stony Point. The ground near Mount Pleasant was a dense forest, 
and the destruction of timber must have been extensive. But let us hear Dr. 
Thatcher : 

" February, 1779, having continued to live under the canvas tents most of the 
Winter we have suffered extensively from exposure to colds. Our soldiers have 
been employed six or eight weeks in constructing log huts, which at length are com- 
plete, and both ofiBcers and soldiers are under comfortable covering for the remainder 
of the Winter. Log houses are constructed with trunks of trees cut into various 
lengths, according to the size intended, and are firmly connected by notches cut at 
their extremities in the manner of dovetailing. The vacancies between the logs 




are filled with plastering consisting of mud and clay. The roof is formed of smaller 
pieces of timber and covered with hewn slabs. The chimney, situated at one end 
of the house, is made of similar but smaller timbers, and both the inner and outside 
are covered with clay plaster to defend the wood against the fire. The doors and 
windows are formed by sawing away part of the logs of a proper size, and move on 
wooden hinges In this manner have our soldiers, without nails and almost with- 
out tools, except the axe and saw, provided for their officers and themselves con- 
venient and comfortable quarters, with little or no expense to the puVjlic. The huts 
are arranged in straight lines, forming a regular, uniform, compact village. 

" The officers' huts are situated in front of the line according to their rank. 
The kitchen in the rear is similar in form to the tent encampment. The ground 
for a considerable distance in front of the soldiers' line of huts is cleared of wood 
and rubbish, and is every morning swept clean for the purpose of a parade ground 
and roll call of the respective regiments. The officers' huts are generally divided 
into two apartments, and are occupied by three or four officers, who compose one 
mess. Those for the soldiers have but one room, and contain ten or twelve men, 
with their cabins placed one above the other against the wall and filled with straw, 
and one blanket for each man. I now occupy a hut with our field officers, Colonel 
Gibson, Colonel Brent and Major Merri weather. " 

The description will apply tqually to the three encampments ; at which of them 
Thatcher lived is not determined — probably at Mount Pleasant. He proceeds under 
date of April 20 to say : 

" Five soldiers were conducted to the gallows, according to their sentences, for 
the crimes of desertion and robbing the inhabitants A detachment of troops and 
a concourse of people formed a circle around the gallows, and the criminals were 
brought in a cart sitting on their coffins, with halters around their necks. While in 
this awful situation, trembling on the verge of eternity, three of them received a 
pardon from the Commander-in-Chief, who is always tenderly disposed to spare the 
lives of his soldiers. Thej' acknowledged the justice of their sentence, and expressed 
their warmest thanksgiving and gratitude for their merciful pardon. The two others 
were obliged to submit to their fate One of them was accompanied to the fatal 
spot by an afifectionate and sympathizing brother, which rendered the scene uncom- 
monly distressing, and forced tears of compassion from the eyes of numerous 
spectators. They repeatedly embraced and kissed each other, with all the fervor of 
brotherly love, and would not be separated till the executioner was obliged to per- 
form his duty, when with a flood of tears and mournful lamentations they bade 
each other an eternal farewell — the criminal trembling under the horrors of an 
untimely and disgraceful death, and the brother overwhelmed with sorrow and 
anguish for one whom he held most dear." 

Tradition says that pigs, fowls and turkeys were gathered in the camp without 
much regard to the ownership by ihe soldiers. An ingenious mode of reaching a 
turkey, roosting on a high tree, was to put a brimstone match on a pole, after light- 
ing it, apply it to his nose. Mr. Gobbler came at once tumbling down to the ground 
and was secured as a valuable prize for a hungry soldier's mess. But there was a 
little too much of it, and so these men came to a disgraceful end. 

Jacob S. Johnson (colored) was hung May 5, 1897, for the murder of Annie 
Rogers (colored). Elmer Clawson was hung on May 12 of the same year for the 
murder of Harry Hodgetls. Both were hung in the present (1898) jail. 

The same year in which the county was formed, on the eleventh of December, 
an act was passed in the Legislative Assembly to raise a tax for the purpose of 



24 



withstanding invasion, and it was made payable at the house of John Injoines 
(Innians), the owner of the Ferry at New Brunswick. In 1694 an act was passed to 
raise 79 pounds, 12s., gd. silver money, to be paid to the Governor at Perth Amboy, 
and John White and Peter Van Ness were appointed for Somerset to see it done. 
Again in the same year, John Royce, Peter Van Ness and J Tunison were appointed 
Commissioners of Highways, "in the place of those who had died." It forbade 
the change of location, except for sufi&cient reasons, and encouraged keeping them 
in repair. And again, a year earlier — 1693, an act for the purpose of raising soldiers 
for the defense of the Province, when again Pettr Van Ness was appointed for Som- 
erset. In 1681 an act was passed forbidding the sale of ardent spirits, wine, cider 
or strong beer to the Indians This enactment looked as much to safety as it did to 
temperance or good morals. 



No. IX— ROADS. 



1"^HERrE was an Indian path, very much traveled by the Aborigines, leading 
from iMiuisink Island in the Delaware below Port Jervis, to the Shrewsbury 
and the ocean side. It passed north of Morristown, crossed the mountains 
west of Springfield, followed Rahway River, and passed the Raritan at a place 
known as Kent's Neck, about four miles west of Amboy. But it was not in any 
sense a toad. 

The first legislative enactments in reference to the opening and keeping of 
highways were passed in 1675 and 1676. Previous to that time the only roads in 
this part of the State of New Jersey were little more than foot paths and bridle 
paths, and we know of none such even, except that by which the people of New 
Amsterdam communicated with their brethren settled on the Delaware. The road 
ran from the Elizabethtowu Point to luian's Ferry, now New Brunswick, probably 
very nearly as " the old road " afterwards ran, and from thence almost in a straight 
line to a point on the Delaware just above the city of Trenton. In the earliest 
times the Raritan and Delaware had both to be forded, and so the road was only 
passable at low water. This was called the "upper road," and afterwards, when 
widened and improved, "The King's Highway." There was also a " lower road," 
which branched off about six miles from the Raritan southerly, and arrived at the 
Delaware at Burlington. These continued until the settlements had extended up to 
the Raritan and Millstone, the only avenues of travel through the State, and they 
do not seem to have admitted of any wagons or carriages passing along them. Even 
as late as 1716 no provisions existed to pass over anything but " horse and man," 
and foot passengers. A road, however, must have been opened and improved to a 
certain extent, for travel on horse back, before 1685, eastward, since in that year 
the inn keepers at Piscataway, Woodbridge and Elizabeth were taxed for five j'ears 
to prevent it from falling into decay. In July, 1683, an opposition to this road was 
attempted by the Proprietors in favor of Perth Amboy. Governor Laurie did what 
he could to aid the enterprise by establishing a ferry at Perth Amboy, and this led 
to the road from South Amboy to Burlington. But the upper road continued to 
enjoy the principal travel between New York and Philadelphia. On the lower road 
a wagon commenced running once a fortnight, for the conveyance of passengers 
and goods, about this time. 

In March, 1732, the following public notice was printed in Bradford's Phila- 
delphia Mercury : "This is to give notice to all gentlemen, merchants, tradesmen, 
travelers, and others, that Solomon Smith and James Moore, of Burlington, keepeth 
two stage wagons, intending to go from Burlington to Perth Amboy, and back from 
Perth Amboy to Burlington, once every week, or oftener if business presents. They 
have also a very good storehouse, very commodious for the storing of any merchants' 
goods, free from any charges, where good care will be taken of all sorts of goods." 
About the same time a similar conveyance ran also by the way of Burlington and 
Perth Amboy. 



26 

The first road along the Raritan branched off from what we have called the " old 
road" at New Brunswick, and followed the north side of the river up to the junc- 
tion of the two Branches, from which it ran west to New Hope, on the Delaware. 
Below Bound Brook its location has not been altered in any essential particular up 
to the present time ; but the opening of the New Jersey Turnpike led to its being 
closed westward of Bound Brook. Its location was south of the turnpike all the 
way between Somerville and the turnpike gate at Bound Brook— just north of the 
farm houses on the banks of the river, and it came into Somerville where the shop 
of Leonard Bunn stood, near the corner of Main and Hamilton streets, passed quite 
close to the front of the Brick Church, and went north of the houses in Main street, 
crossing the turnpike again where John Whitenack's shop was built (now occupied 
by Ballantine & Van Fleet's carriage emporium), and so continued up until near 
Raritan, where the present road is located. Opposite the mansion of the late 
General John Frelinghuysen it threw off a branch which ran to the mills at NortV 
Branch, and on to Easton. How soon after the first families settled on the Raritan 
this road was opened we are not informed. It was probably a gradual affair. The 
earliest legislative action in reference to roads in Somerset County which we have 
seen was in 1694, and it refers to a previous action of the same character by 
which John Royce, Peter Van Neps and John Tunison were appointed Commis- 
sioners of Highways, in the place of several who had died ; and it was enjoined 
upon them not to change the localities of roads without necessity, and to lay out 
and open new ones where required. These acts probably mark the time when what 
were really roads first began to be formed for the convenience of the residents of 
Somerset County. 

There was a road at an early date from New Brunswick to Millstone by way of 
Middlebush, and the road from Bound Brook to Pluckamin was also opened before 
the Revolution. From the Raritan road there also branched ofi" another, which 
crossed the river a little west of the old church, and went to Millstone. (This 
church stood rear the Finderne bridge.) On this road the first bridge across the 
Raritan was built, the first record of which we have is a resolution of the Justices 
and Chosen Freeholders in 1774, to build stone pillars and finish with new timbers 
the bridge over the Raritan at Van Veghten's. The first bridge was built with 
wooden pillars and abutments about 1730. This bridge was upon the exact site of 
the present iron structure built in 1896. The church stood in the second field east 
of the present road, not near the river, but on the high ground north of it. By this 
bridge Washington's army crossed after the Battle of Princeton on their way to 
Pluckamin ; but the exact line of march we are not able to point out (after leaving 
the bridge). If by the usual public highway, then it must have been through 
Somerville and along the road to the mountain by the Somerset Hotel. The road 
from the upper part of the village is later in time, and it could not have been bj' 
this, as it was not then in existence. 

The Landing Bridge was begun prior to 1772, as is evident from the fact 
that in that year an act was passed to enable the inhabitants of Middlesex and 
Somerset to tax themselves to complete that bridge, said to have been already 
begun. 

These two bridges continued for many years to be the only points of passage 
along the river, the other places of crossing were fords. The New Jersey Turnpike 
built their bridge about 1809, and the "covertd bridge," at first a " chain bridge," 
was erected in 1815 or 1S16. 

How the first settlers on the Raritan made their way up to Bound Brook and 



Somerville we are left to conjecture. It may have been on horseback, and it may 
have been by means of canoes or small boats ; both were used in transporting their 
produce to a considerable extent in early times, and in winter they had a splendid 
road on the ice and used it to their comfort and advantage. Wheat and corn are 
known to have been i rought down, even out of the South Branch in boats, in the 
early days when the v» ater in the river was full. The necessity of the case made the 
work to be done, difScnlties notwithstanding. 

The road from Bouud Brook to Pluckamin ought to be memorable for a Revo- 
luliojary incident, which, singularly enough, has found no record in any history of 
those times. We refer to a visit of ceremony and congratulation made to Major 
McDonald, of Pluckamin, by a company of mounted men from General Howe's 
army at New Brunswick. It must have been in the autumn of 1776 or the spring of 
4777, As a matter of precaution, on their way up, they threw out videttes on both 
sides of the road from Bound Brook upward, but they were not molested until they 
■irrived at 'Lafferty's Hill," immediately east of the village, when they were fired 
upon by some person or persons concealed in the woods on the mountain side, and 
one of the party was wounded. This attack incensed them greatly, and when they 
arrived at the hotel in Pluckamin, then kept by Christian EofT, they were very 
violent and noisy, and forcibly possessed themselves of some of the sheets from the 
beds in the house, which they tore up for bandages for the wounded soldier. Having 
provided for their immediate wants they repaired to Major McDonald's house and 
saluted him. It is understood that he had been an officer in the British service in 
his early life, and was living here, probably on half pay. He received the compli- 
ment, and to show his appreciation of it, rolled out a barrel of whiskey from the 
cellar, and gave them such refreshments as could be extemporized for the emergency. 
After tasting the "applejack" and consuming the bread and cold ham offered to 
them, they again mounted rather hastily, calling in their videttes as they proceeded 
on their return. At Bound Brook a few men had collected, but making a rush they 
passed that point in safety, and reached the camp at New Brunswick without any 
serious molestation. The fact was, that the inhabitants had suffered so severely 
from the British foraging parties in the autum, winter and spring of 1776 and 1777, 
that they were afraid to molest any company of military men, for it only provoked 
them to inflict increasing damages. The people were at their mercy and could only 
endure. The time had not yet arrived for them to avenge their injuries, but it came ; 
and before the year 1777 closed General Howe had evacuated New Brunswick, 
leaving Somerset County, to return no more forever. 



No. X— SOME OF THE MEN OF SOMERSET. 



IT would be a pleasant task to mention the name of every one who ha? j-'lorned the 
annals of Somerset county, by the elevation of their character, their elGciency, 
intelligence, their moral culture and their Christian consistency ; but we }.ave 
neither the knowledge nor the space for such an extensive rev'ew of the pasi 
We only mention a few. There was an emigration directly from Scotland, at differeji : 
times, to which we owe the names of Kirkpatrick, McEowen, McDowell, Logan, 
McKinstry, Boylan. Then there came from Canada, Captain Creighlou McCrea, 
Colonel James Henry, Dr. Henry, Major McDonald and others. McCrea, Pr. Henry 
and McDonald, it is understood, had been connected with the British Army From 
Long Island came the ancestors of Jacobus Van Derveer, who, at his death, was sa' ' 
to be the richest man in Somerset county and Elias Van Derveer, both of BedLoir) 
ster, and the latter the father of the late Dr. Henry Van Derveer, of Pluckamin, also 
Dr. Lawrence Van Derveer, of Roycefield, an eminent physician, philanthropist and 
Christian, Cornelius Van Derveer, of North Branch, Ferdinand and Colonel Henrj^ 
Van Derveer, of Somerville. The Schencks^ Van Stays, Van Camps, Ten Eycks, 
La Tourettes, Bogarts, Van Middlesworths, De Groots, Brokaws, and others were 
from the same place ; RoberTBolmef^ of German extraction, often an elder in the 
church, David Kelly, an assemblyman, Robert Blair, John Simonson, Guysbert 
Sutphen, Christopher Hoagland, the Lanes and Fields, and many others, Jhonorable 
in their day, useful in church and in State, and worthy of commemoration. 

From such general memoranda we now turn to copy two or three obituaries as 
interesting relics of a former age ; and from New Jersey State Gazette, September i, 
1779 • " Died on the 15th ultimo, Hon. Abraham Van Neste, Member of Council for 
the County of Somerset." In an advertisement, October 27, 1781, he is said to have 
been "of Millstone." January 17, 1781, from the same source : "On Sunday, 7th 
iust., departed this life, in an advanced age, Jacob Bergen, first Judge of the Court 
of Common Pleas for the County of Somerset. He was for many years a Magistrate 
under the former government ; and was continued under the present ; universally 
respected as an early, a consistent and decided patriot. The country has lost in him 
a faithful, active Magistrate, and the State a useful, respectable citizen." Judge 
Bergen lived in Princeton, and one of his appointments was given him in "Joint 
Meeting," held in the College building, September 13, 1776. Peter Schenck, 
Abraham Van Neste, James Linn and Enos Kelly were appointed to the same posi- 
tion at the same time. On November 26, 1777, the Legislature of New Jersey met 
at his house, and in the season of 1779 Abraham Van Neste, mentioned above, was 
a member of the Assembly from Somerset. 

Another dated Trenton, December 6, 1781 : "On Thursday, 29th ult., died at 
his seat on the Raritan, Derrick Van Veghten, in the 84th year of his age. This 
gentleman possessed the virtues of patriotism and hospitality in a verj' eminent 
degree. Warmly attached to the cause of his country, he took peculiar pleasure in 
rendering it any services in his power ; and when his property was very essentially 



•29 

injured by the winter quarters of a division of our army being fixed on his posses- 
sions, like a good citizen he submitted without repining to suffer as an individual, 
to promote the public good. His benevolence and hospitality were not confined to 
the circle of his i'riends and acquaintances. His doors were ever opened to the 
friendless stranger , ^■s house afforded a resting place and a cheerful welcome to the 
weary traveller. T':e blessing of the poor and needy, the widow and the orphan, 
daily ascended to heav i in his behalf. Providence blessed him with a good con- 
stitution, and he met l • gradual approaches of death with that composure and 
resignation which pfoceei from the consciousness of a religious life, and a well 
grouuded hope of the divine acceptance. The general sorrow of the numerous 
assembly which attended the funeral on the Sunday following, testified their sense 
r !iis merit and their loss." 

Mr. Van V'eghten resided on the banks of the Raritan near what is now called 
the old bridge. He gave land, or his father, Michael Van Veghten did, as a site for 
the first church built on the Raritan. It was finished and used for the first time 
December ii, 1721, a year and a half, or a little more, from the time that Dominie 
Frelinghuysen began to preach in the congregation. 

The American army was quartered on Mr. Van Veghten's land in the winter of 
1778 and 1779 Washington's general orders to the troops were published in the 
New Jersey Gazette, February 17, 1779, but were really given at an earlier date. The 
church had been burnt by the Queen's Rangers, under Colonel Simcoe on the 28th 
of the preceding October, 1778. The location of the encampment had already been 
indicated. It was a valuable piece of timber land, which was almost entirely 
destroyed as fuel and logs for the soldiers huts ; and there is no evidence that any 
compensation was ever made. During the same winter General Washington and 
Mrs. Washington lived in the parlor of Cale b Mille r's house (now known as the 
Wallace house, and in 1896 was purchaseToy the New Jersey Revolutionary 
Memorial Society), then just newly finished to receive them. Here Washington 
planned and arraigned all the details of General Sullivan's expedition against the 
Indians in western New York. With the reverence due to such a circumstance, 
that parlor has not been changed in the least since the Father of his Country lived 
and slept in it, and it ought to remain as it is until time effects its demolition. Our 
veneration for the past is too feeble either for our own credit, or the benefit of future 
times. 

Earlier in point of time occurs the name of Hendrick Fisher in many of the 
public records of our county. He came to reside in Somerset county about the time 
that F. J. Frelinghuysen settled at Raritan, and was a prominent elder in the church 
at Six Mile Run, and a firm supporter of his minister in his efforts to introduce a 
strict evangelical life in his churches. No one, perhaps, had more influence than he 
had, in securing the results that were reached. He resided on the south side of the 
Raritan, opposite the village of Bound Brook, and owned a farm consisting of two 
hundred acres, which he purchased from the original proprietor, William Dockwra. 
It joine^the lands of Abraham Staats, and the homestead lately owned by Jacob 
Shurts. rjkis the identical house in which Joseph Phillips lived, some years since, 
when he shot a man for invading his hen roost. He also owned land east of the 
hotel, which he purchased of George Cussart & Co., on the i6th of April, 1761. A 
part of this land he sold to John Compton for 115 pounds. He represented the 
County of Somerset in the Assembly at Perth Amboy, in 1772, and in company with 
John Royce, in 1775, ^^ the opening of the Revolution. After this he sat in the 



30 

Continental Congress for more than one term, and died in a good old age, full of 
years and honors. 

Colonel John Mehelm, who at the time of his death lived in the village of Pluck- 
amin, in the old house which Major EHas Brown owned and '•emoved only a few 
years since. He was originally from Hunterdon county, and sat in the Aiisembly of 
1772 and 1775 from that county. This was during the administration of Governor 
William Franklin. He was appointed under the Surrogate General, to the ofii:"e of 
Surrogate for both the counties of Hunterdon and Somerstt, as we Live been assured 
by one who is competent authority on such a subject. Whether he sat in the council 
or assembly after he had completed his term as Surrogate, we aie not certain, but we 
believe he did. Colonel Mehelm was a man of character and weight in the county . 
and has left an honorable reputation to his descendants. Like many others, b'* 
name has ceased to be known among the living, except as an adjunct to another 
patronomic. 

We must not fail to mention among those who have been prominent in 
life the name of John Hardenburgh. He was the son of the Rev. Dr. Hardeubu 
pastor of the church of Raritan, and JefFvrow Hardenburgh, a woman of emine. 
piet}'. He is commonly spoken of by the aged, who still remember him as Sherift 
Hardenburgh, but his holding that ofifice was a great misfortune to himself, and to 
bis friends who came his sureties. He was a gentleman of popular address and 
manners, and lived a free and generous life, not regarding always the expenses in 
which indulgence involved him. He married Ann Wallace from Philadelphia, and 
lived in the old house which was removed to make room for the present mansion of 
Dumont Frelinghuysen, Esq. He died in 1798, and his remains were deposited by the 
side of his wife on the banks of the meadows east of the old parsonage in which his 
father had resided. His wife died before him. We give their epitaphs : 

"In memory of Ann, wife of John Hardenburgh, who departed this life Novem- 
ber 26, 1793, aged 35 years and 6 months." 

"In memory of John Hardenburgh, Esq., who departed this life July 23, 1798, 
aged 39 years, 3 months and 12 days " 

In the house lately owned by John Herbert, at the mills near Middlebrook, 
resided during the Revolution, a merchant from New York by the name of Philip 
Van Horn, and from him it was known as " Phil's Hill." His house was resorted to 
\)y the officers of the American army, and his daughters, one or more, married them. 
Colonel Simcoe called at the house on his way to Van Veghten's bridge and Mill- 
stone, when the church of Raritan was burnt, expecting to find Colonel Moj-land 
there who was, we believe, a sonin-law. The Duke DeChastellaux, Major-General 
of the French army under Rochambeau, on his way from Morristown to Trenton, 
dined with Mr. Van Horn, and gives an amusing account of one daughter, an 
officer's wife, and another, the younger, who was flirting with a Lieutenant during 
the dinner. We have no knowledge of what became of the family, except that the 
property was sold after the war, and they must have either died or moved away. 



No. XI. MEN OF SOMERSET.— CONTINUED. 



TT TE continue this week some other reminiscences which have fallen in our 
yXi bauds while ransacking the documents of olden times. We give them only 
' " as a tithe of what could be rescued by perseverance and patience ; and coui- 
iJ'end the work to those who have leisure and a love for the past. 

WiJliam Mercer lived above Millstone and was a man of high character. He 
owned a mill and a store, and accumulated wealth. His descendants reside at the 
r y,t time in Newark and its vicinity. Theodore Frelinghuysen married his 

<hter Charlotte, and Dr. Stryker, of Somerville, another. Dr. Stryker, besides 
. '.'ing in the legislative council, was a physician of eminence and large practice ; 
aa earnest Christian, living to the age of nearly ninety years, and going down to his 
rest full of honor and in perfect peace. 

At Weston lived J. M. Baj'ard, owner of the mills, a citizen of influence in his 
day ; a Christian man, an example of every good word and work. He assisted at 
the first meeting called to form the Somerset County Bible Society, and was always 
active when the good order of society was concerned. 

We have said that Peter Dumont was living on the Raritan in the beginning of 
1699. He was a large land holder on the south side of the Raritan and the ancestor of 
those who have since borne that honorable name. He was born April 18, 1679, and 
was the son of Walran Dumont and Gertie, his wife. He married first, Femetie 
Van Middlesworth, who died December 25, 1706; second, Catelyntie Rappelyea, 
who died^January 30, 1709 ; and thir3, Janetie Veghte. Her son John, born April 13, 
1719, was the father of Peter B. Dumont, of our times. The Dumont family are of 
French extraction. Isaac Dumont, of Bostanquet, held a Feif by Knights service in 
the beautiful Pays de Caux, in Normandy. A branch emigrated to Holland in the 
days of the persecution. They were early of Protestant principles ; and Isaac Du- 
mont served in the army of William when he came to England, as others had done 
before him in armies of the Prince of Orange. 

Among the Raritan families the Veghtes have long been influential and respect- 
able. The common ancestors were two brothers, Hendrick and Claas Arense Veghte, 
who came to New Netherlands in 1660, and went to reside on Long Island at 
Gowanus. Hendrick, a son of one of the emigrants, built a house of bricks im- 
ported from Holland, with a tile roof, which bears the date 1699. He appointed a 
cousin of his, a son of the other emigrant named John, one of his executors, and 
left a farm on the Raritan to his son Rynier, formerly owned by John A. Staats. 
Rynier, his son, married a daughter of JohnVan Middlesworth, who lived opposite 
on the south side of the river, and died on his farm, leaving it to his son Henry. 
Henry sold it soon after his marriage and bought another farm in Roycefield, now 
owned by Captain John Wyckoff, and died early, leaving a sou Rynier, who in- 
herited the plantation of his grandfather, John.J^au-JJjddlesworth, consisting of at 
least one thousand acres. Hendrick Veghte and his wife died on the same day ; he 
at 9 o'clock in the morning and she at 10 in the evening. Rynier moved from 



32 

Roycefield to Raritan, a young man in 1786, and was the father of Rynier Veghte, 
and the grandfather of the late John V. Veghte. The old homestead is where the 
late Hon. R. H. Veghte died, and the property of the Veghtes, including about 600 
acres, is now owned and occupied by J. B, Duke, Esq. 

The name of Vroom is found early on the records of the church. Court Vroom 
seems to have been the first of the name residing on the Raritan. Colonel Peter D. 
Vroom, of Revolutionary days, was a prominent citizen of Somerset county in his 
time. He was born January 27, 1745, O. S., two miles from Raritan Landing. 
Early in life he lived in New York, whence he came to reside on the Raritan, iiear 
the junction of the North and South Branches. The homestead is now owned by 
Mr. Randolph and occupied by John A. Voorhees. Colonel Vroom married Elsie 
Bogart . and died on this homestead. He was one of the few individuals who raised 
the first military company in the beginning of the Revolutionary War, in which he 
served as Lieutenant and Captain, and was appointed Major of the Somerset 
battalion by joint meeting in 1777, and afterwards a Lieutenant Colonel. He iv-l a 
company at the battle of Germantown and was in the service during the v rr. 
During his life he occupied almost every oflBce of trust in the county. At the clo.^e 
of the Revolution he was made High Sheriff, and then Clerk of the Pleas, af,.er- 
wards a Justice of the Peace, Clerk of the Board of Chosen Freeholders, a Member 
of Assembly in 1791 and several succeeding years, Member of Council for 1799 to 
1804, and a long time presiding judge of the court, afterward an elder in his church, 
and always a leading counsellor ; he enjoyed an unblemished reputation, and died 
in November, 1831, in the 87th year of his age — having, in his time, filled as large 
a space in public life as any of the prominent men of his day in Somerset county. 
He was the father of the late Governor Peter D. Vroom, of Trenton. 

William Churchill Houston was born in South Carolina about the year 1746. 
His father was a planter, a man of distinction, and William lived at home until after 
his majority. With very limited means be made his way to Princeton and entered the 
Freshman Class in the college, and graduated with high honors in 1768. Soon after 
his graduation he was appointed a tutor, and two years after was elected Professor 
of Mathematics and Natural Philosophy, being the first occupant of that chair in 
the institution. He resigned in 1783 and was succeeded by Ashbel Green, after- 
wards president of the college. While connected with the college Mr. Houston 
found time to study law, and in April, 1781, was admitted to the bar of New Jersey. 
During the time that he occupied the chair of Professor he served one session at 
least in the Legislature, viz : 1778. His associates were Roelif Sebring and David 
Kirkpatrick. In the Assembly of 1781, Edward Bunn was chosen to fill his place. 
From 1772 to 1775 he was Receiver of Continental Taxes, and in September, 1781, 
was appointed Clerk of the Supreme Court, and was succeeded in the oflSce by 
Governor Howell in 1788. In May, 1770, he was elected a member of the Congress 
of the Confederation, and was four times re elected to the same position. He was a 
delegate from New Jersey at the assembling of Commissioners from the States, at 
Annapolis, in 1775, and signed the report and address signed by that bod}'. In 
November, 1786, he was appointed a delegate from New Jersey to the convention 
which met at Philadelphia and framed the Constitution of the United States. " But 
we cannot discover that he ever took his seat in that body, being most probablj- 
prevented from doing so by his rapidly declining health." He died at Philadelphia 
in 1787, while on a journey to the South, and was there interred. He was a learned 
and profound lawyer and distinguished in the halls of science and legislation. Mr. 
Houston, while in PrincetoH, must have lived as Dr. Witherspoon did, on the 






:J3 

Somerset side of the street, whicb was the commou boundary between this couuty 
aud Middlesex. The memoir from which we copy does not state that he represented 
Somerset in the L' islature, but he did so represent it, and more than once in 
Congress. He w- . in lact, one of the most prominent aud popular public men of 
his day. 

These -v ^-re all men of character and influence in their day. They assisted in 
laying the foundations, nnd if we have any pride in seeing what a beautiful structure 
has been built, we must not forget their labors and sacrifices in the great cause. Som- 
erstt County owes tliem more than can be told. Their times were trying times, but 
they were steadfast and wrought earnestly. We are only reaping a harvest the seed 
of which they planted laboriously and patiently. 



No. XII. -MEN OF SOMERSET.— CONTIN^'^D. 



TT TE are constrained to continue our catalogue of "worthies," even at the i : 
l/y of being accounted prolix; and we love especial ■>- tocaUup the names of "the 
' ' ancients." The men near our own times will find chroniclers in others in 
due time. We cannot attend to their claims in these bri f tiotes We haffe feit 
constrained to find a place for David Kirkpatrick, of Mine Bro k, the father of Chief 
Justice Kirkpatrick. He was entirely a Somerset man, though born in Scotland. 
He emigrated to New Jersey with his father, Alexander Kirkpatritk" when twelve 
years of age, in 1736, landing at New Castle, Delaware, after a sto-rm \ passage 
during which their provisions were almost entirely consumed and the pas^en^ers in 
danger of starvation. Wandering up from Delaware they finally reached Bounvl 
Brook, and went on over the mountains on foot by an Indian path. On their w3,v 
they encountered " a land turtle, sticking up his head and hissing fearfully." They 
had heard of rattlesnakes, and were sure this terrible monster must be one of them, 
so turnTng cautiously aside, they left his " tortleship " in full possession of his 
quarters, and went on their way, giving him a wide berth. Coming to a spring of 
water on the south side of Mine Brook, or Round Mountain, they rested, and, 
fancying the outlook of the place, settled and built a log house. David Kirkpatrick, 
the subject of our sketch, was born at " Wattiesneach," Dumfrieshire, Scotland, 
February 17, 1724, and was a plain but earnest man, living four score years and ten 
to see and enter upon his ninety first year. He was often a member of the New 
Jersey Legislature ; and it is pleasantly said of him, that on going to Trenton he 
usually commenced his journey on horseback, but soon dismounted and walked, 
leading the animal all the way to Trenton. He was always a public spirited, earnest 
Christian man ; a man with the temper of the Scotch worthies largely developed in his 
character, and left posterity who have borne honorable names among the honorable 
men of Somerset. His descendants have, in many ways, proved themselves worthy 
of their sire, at the bar, in the pulpit, and in many other branches of public life. 
A plain, simple-hearted, almost uneducated man, he obtained an extensive influence 
in his day, and died full of years and honors. Hugh K. Gaston, Esq , of Somerville, 
is a worthy descendant. 

It would not be proper, while speaking of the men of Somerset, to fail to men- 
tion General Frederick Frelinghuysen, the only son of Rev. Johannes Frelinghuysen 
and Dinah Van Burgh, of Amsterdam, Holland. He was born in Somerville, April 
13, 1753, and died on April 13, 1804, aged fifty one years exactly. He entered public 
life early, and in 1775, when only twenty two years of age, was sent to the Con- 
tinental Congress. He served in his place for two years and resigned in 1777, on 
account of the expense of attending it and the claims upon him from the exigencies 
of his own private affairs. His letter, which has been preserved and published, is 
highly honorable to his patriotism and his sense of duty. He was, at first, a Captain 
of a volunteer artillery company for one year on the opening < *" the Revolution. He 
fought in the battles of the Assinpink and of Monmouth, and generally during the 



35 

war he was active a-^ t Colon 'Hia of his native county. After receiving 

repeated evidences ol Lbe cot) fidei .lie public, he was, in 1763, elected to the 

United States Senate. He served iu i> place until domestic bereavements and the 
claims of his owu affairs obliged him again to resign in 1796. In the Western 
Expedition or the " WJ'iskey Wai," he served as a Major General, commanding 
the troor om New Jersey and Pennsylvania. He enjoyed a large share of public 
confif' je and was one of the prominent men of his time. Somerset has long 
cb dhed his memory with pride. 

Earlier iu public life than Frelinghuysen was William Patterson, the second 
Governor of New ]< -^y, after Independence. He is called one of the most talented 
men of his day. I r as born at sea in 1745, and his parents brought him from Ireland 
when two years old. He graduated at Princeton in 1763, and though mostly a resi- 
dent of New Brunswick he lived for several years on the Raritan on what is called the 
" Patterson Farm," now occupied by A. H. Brokaw. Here he attended to the business 
of his plantation, and at the same time engaged iu the practice of the-law. In the little 
ofnce which stood aside from his dwelling, and near the roadside, he transacted his 
business and attended to the instruction of several students, of whom we shall make 
tji-ention in another connection as a matter of interest and pride. He was appointed, 
ij 1776, a Judge of the Supreme Court of New Jersey, and elected Governor of the 
State in 1790, as a successor of William Livingston, the first Governor after the Revo- 
lutionary War Previous to this he had been a member of the convention to frame the 
United States Constitution, and Senator of the First Congress. He was, at the time of 
his death, September 9, i8c6, a Judge of the Supreme Court of the United States. New 
Jersey claims his memory as one of her most honored and cherished possessions, 
and the county of Somerset enrolls him with pleasure among her great men. His 
character is singularly pure, unstained even by one blot. He was evidently an 
honest, honorable, upright man. 

Somerset has a right to claim as one of her prominent men William Alexander, 
best known as " Lord Sterling," a Major General in the armies of the Revolution. 
He was a son of James Alexander, Surveyor General of New Jersey, and was born 
in New York city 1726. His father, James Alexander, fled from Scotland 1716, 
having been implicated in the outbreak in favor of the Stewarts in that year. His 
mother was a widow of David Provost, facetiously called " Ready Money " Provost. 
He spent several years of his life near Basking Ridge, where he built a splendid 
mansion, had a park filled with deer, and lived in baronial style. He joined the 
army in his youth, and was Aide-de-Camp to General Sherley iu the French and 
Indian war. He claimed the earldom of Sterling, in Scotland, and went to 
England to prosecute his claim, but failed in obtaining the acknowledgment of what 
was considered his just rights, but his friends usually gave him, by way of compli- 
ment, the title. He acted a conspicuous part during the War of the Revolution, and 
stood high in the confidence of Washington. He distinguished himself at the 
Battle of Long Island, but was taken prisoner ; and again at Germantown and Mon- 
mouth. On Long Island his bravery was themeans of saving a large part of the 
American army. At Germantown his division, with the brigades of Nash and 
Maxwell, formed a corps of reserve, and at Monmouth he commanded the left wing 
of the army and met the fiercest onset of Sir Henry Clinton, and aided essentially 
in securing the victory achieved by our arms on that bloody field. His patriotism 
was ardent and steady, inspired largely by his love for the Commander-in-Chief and 
the noble cause for which he fought. Before the Revolution he served in the Pro- 
vincial Council several years. His wife was a sister of Governor William Livingston, 



36 

of New Jersey. He died at Albany, January 15, 17S3, aged 57 years, leaving behind 
him the reputation of a brave, skillful and intrepid commander, and an honorable, 
honest and pure man. The sacrifices which he made and the eflforts he put forth in 
the cause of Independence will embalm his memory in all coming time. 

No catalogue of the men of Somerset would be complete which should omit a 
conspicuous place to Richard Stockton, of Princeton. Mr. Stockton graduated at 
Princeton College at an early day, 1748. Devoting himself to t'ne study of the law 
he rose almost immediately to a conspicuous place on account of the superior mental 
abilities which he displayed and the unbending integritr of bis conduci. He 
received an appointment to the judicial bench under the Provincial administration, 
and was continued after the adoption of the Constitution iu 1776. He uniformly 
discharged the duties of his oflSce with great judgment and ictegrit., securing for 
himself the reputation of a clear judgment and unbending uprightness. He was a 
member of Congress after the opening of the Revolution, and signed the ^declaration 
of Independence. On account of his having done this his seat, called " riorven," 
was ransacked and spoiled by the British and Hessians in the Autumn of 177-6, and 
he himself kept long in exile in Monmouth county. Even his valuable library and 
papers were destroyed. Mr. Stockton has left behind him a very high reputation 
for talents, scholarship, oratory and statesmanship, and crowned it all by living the 
life of a consistent Christian. He died on the first of March, 17S1. He was the 
father of Richard Stockton, an eminent lawyer and statesman in more recent times- 
and grandfather of Commodore Stockton. 

Another of the signers of the Declaration of Independence, also from his resi- 
dence on a farm called "Tusculum." on the Somerset side of the main street in 
Princeton, and thus a citizen of Somerset County, was Dr. John Witherspoon, a 
lineal descendant of John Knox, the reformer. He was born in Yester, Scotland, 
February 5, 1722, and educated at the University of Edinburgh. He removed from 
Paisley, as minister from the old Abbey Church, to New Jersey, in 1768, to become 
President of Princeton College, through the influence of Richard Stockton. He was 
a member of Congress from 1776 until the conclusion of peace in 17S3. During the 
last two years of his life he suffered from the loss of his eyesight, and died Novem- 
ber 15, 1794, in the seventy-third year of his age. Dr. Witherspoon was a man of 
fine talents, of extensive learning, and great shrewdness and knowledge of men. All 
this he combined also with a keen sense of the ridiculous, and so was, in his way, a 
distinguished humorist. He wrote extensively, and his published works on theology 
aud moral philosophy are still highly appreciated. As a politician and lover of 
liberty he will always take a high rank ; and in the United States Congress, then 
composed of the leading minds of America, he always held a position of influence 
and honor. As a preacher, author and statesman, he was one of the most prominent 
men in his day. An anecdote, illustrative of Dr. Witherspoon's shrewdness, is often 
told. Gouvernour Morris, who was notorious as a ready and plausible talker, had 
made a bet at a convivial party that he would go to the House next morning and 
speak for half an hour and no one would notice that he was not speaking to the 
point or call him to order. He made the attempt, and was proceeding fluently and 
eloquently, and as he thought triumphantly, when Dr. Witherspoon called out in 
his broad Scotch. '* I seecund the jantleman's mootion." Morris paused, and said 
in his blandest tones, "I have not made any motion, and cannot, therefore, thank 
the gentleman for seconding it." "Than ye arr insoolting the Hoose," was the 
quick reply, and its loud, earnest tones so confused the speaker that he sat down, 
and afterwards confessed that he had lost his bet. If any of the other members saw 



37 

the anomalv or discovered iha: a -.r-.ck was being p. aye- cr c- ire—, a: .eas: :-cv 
did not resent it, as tbt shr«wd Scotchman did promptly and decidedlv. He was, 
therefore, either the best acquainted with order or the most shrewd and observant 
man of the Hot:?e. 

The following :- ..fent :s also related of Dr. Wiiherspoon : " Governor Franklin 
last Colonial Goverrir rame before the Conndl of Safety in a great rage and 
wanted to know by \Tbat aatbcrity he was so treated. All eyes were turned to Dr. 
Wiiheispoon. who, .t is said, scratched his wig a little, then rose and replied in his 
bread Scotch Prague, "I*, coald not be expected that a plain body of farmers and 
worcingTnen should treat him with all that politeness and respect which his iUos- 
trioa* bmh and renned education would demand, but we mean to treat yon civilly, 
sir.' and sat doin." 



No. XIII. -MEN OF SOMERSET.— CONTINUED. 



WE have still some names which claim a record at our hands, and we proceed 
to give such reminiscences as have fallen in our way. We are conscious of 
their many imperfections, and hope some one hereafter may do them more 
ample justice. In the first instance we mention Judge Berrien, who lived during 
the Revolution in a large mansion of two stories, with four rooms on the floor and a 
wing, standing on an eminence an eighth of a mile eastward of the Millstone River, 
at Rocky Hill. Lossing, in the " Field Book of the Revolution," gives a drawing 
of the house, and speaks of it as being in quite a dilapidated condition. In this 
house Washington had his quarters at the conclusion of the war, August, 1783, and 
here he wrote his farewell address to the army. It has been recently purchased by 
a society composed of descendants of the American Revolution, and has been 
removed to some distance from its original location, thereby destroying, in part, its 
historical value. We have been able only to ascertain that Judge Berrien was the 
father of John McPherson Berrien, and removed to Georgia while his afterwards 
distinguished son was yet in his childhood, and continued to reside there until his 
death. 

John McPherson Berrien was born in the old mansion at Rocky Hill, August 
23, 1781. He graduated at Princeton in his fifteenth year, and was admitted to the 
bar in 1799. His life was spent in Georgia, where he became an eminent statesman. 
Having first served in the Legislature of the State for several years, he was, in 1824, 
elected a member of the United States Senate, and occupied his seat honorably to 
himself and usefully to his country until he was appointed Attorney General of the 
United Stales by President Jackson, and took his seat in the Cabinet. He was one 
of the prominent men of his day, and died full of honor and full of years. 

Since we penned the brief notice of John M. Bayard a friend has sent us the 
following, which we cheerfully add : John M. Bayard may be claimed as another of 
our Somerset worthies. He lived at what is now called Weston, owned the mills 
there, and long after known as Bayard's Mills, and was known in his day as a man 
of education and property. He was a son of Judge John Bayard, formerly a Judge 
of the Pleas in Somerset, who lived in Albany street. New Brunswick, in the house 
afterwards owned and occupied by Joseph W. Scott. Whether Judge Bayard was 
originally a Somerset man I do not know, but am inclined to think he was from 
Pennsylvania. He had a son, Andrew Bayard, I think a man of some eminence as 
a merchant, who lived in Philadelphia, and also a son Samuel, who was at one time 
a Judge in Pennsylvania, and afterwards moved to Princeton, in this State. He 
was for a time a Judge of the Pleas in Somerset, and also a member of the Legisla- 
ture, but this was comparatively of recent date. Old Judge Bayard also had a 
daughter who married C. J. Kirkpatrick. 

Among the distinguished men of Somerset, James Linn deserves a conspicuous 
place on account of his long and distinguished services in public life. He was a 
man of note in the county of Somerset during the Revolution, and afterwards. He 



39 

graduated at the College of New Jersey in 1769. He owned a handsome property 
at Mine Brook, in the township of Bernards, still known as the " Linn Farm." 
" Major James Linn, having in writing, dated March i, 1777, requested leave to 
resign his commission ?.s First Major of First Regiment of Militia of the county of 
Somerset. Ordered that bis resignation be accepted." It appears from this that he 
must have entered tue militia service early in the Revolution, and must have served 
during the war, as his resigratiou was not accepted until near the close of the war. 
He was, also, in 1777, elected to the Legislative Council from the county of Somer- 
set, William Patterson being, in 1776, the first one chosen to that place after the 
formation of the Constitution, on the second of July, 1776, and it is stated in one of 
our old records that "James Linn, of New York," was appointed an attorney at-law 
for the Province of New Jersey by Governor Franklin. For several years, between 
1790 and 1798, he represented the county in the State Legislature, and in 1796 and 
1797 was Vice President of the Council. In 1798 he was elected to Congress, in 
which body he served from 1799 to 1801. It was at this time that the celebrated 
contest for the Presidency took place, and the House of Representatives was called 
to elect between Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr, who had each an equal number 
'.>f electoral votes. New Jersey was looked upon as a doubtful State. She had five 
members on the door — Samuel H. Imlay, Franklin Davenport, Aaron Kitchell, John 
Condit and James Linn. Two of them were known to be in favor of Colonel Burr. 
The vote of Mr. Linn was supposed to be uncertain, and much interest was excited 
in regard to it, as the vote of New Jersey would greatly influence and might 
determine the final result. It was claimed, but with what truth we do not know, 
that Mr. Linn had been elected by the Federal party, and as that party voted almost 
in a body for Mr. Burr it was supposed his vote would be given for him. On the 
first ballot, however, he cast his vote for Mr. Jefferson, thus giving him the State, 
and making eight States voting in his favor. This was not enough to elect him, but 
after many ballotings he was eventually elected, the State of New Jersey adhering 
throughout to her first ballot. Mr. Linn was not re elected to Congress and was 
afterwards appointed by President Jefferson Supervisor of the Revenue of New 
Jersey. Somewhere about that time he removed to Trenton. He was appointed to 
the ofiice of Secretary of State of New Jersey in 1805, and held it until he died 
in December, 1820. His first wife was a daughter of Governor Livingston. The 
estate held in this county has long since passed out of the family. He was much 
respected as a citizen, but attained to no eminence in his profession, having turned 
his attention principally to other pursuits. 

Subsequent to James Linn, Henry Southard, from the same vicinity, came upon 
the stage of action. He was born on Long Island October, 1747, and removed with his 
father, when only eight years of age, to Basking Ridge. He received only an ordinary 
English education, and labored at first as a hired man at thirty cents a day ; but 
perseverance and economy finally enabled him to become the owner of a farm ; 
then these qualities recommended him to office. He was appointed a Justice of the 
Peace, and it is said out of nine hundred cases only four were reversed by an appeal. 
During the Revolution he acted a patriotic part and served the cause of freedom. 
After the adoption of the Federal Constitution, in 1789, he was chosen among the 
first members to the State Legislature, and served nine years in succession, when 
he was elected a member of the House of Representatives. In this position of 
honor and usefulness he continued for twenty-one years. In his last year his son, 
Samuel L. Southard, came into the United States Senate, and they served as mem- 
bers respectively of the Senate and the House upon the joint committee which 



40 

reported the " Missouri Compromise." He died June 2, 1842, at the advanced age 
of 95 years. Until within three years of his decease he had no occasion for the use 
of spectacles, and usually walked three miles every day. He had a clear mind, but 
most of all, such a retentive memory as to be able to recall everything which had 
passed during his long life. 

Among the honored names of former times in cur county, that of Andrew Kirk- 
patrick stands prominent. He was of Scotch descent. His ancestors emigrated to 
this country about 1736, and settled at Mine Brook. His father, David Kirkpatrick, 
married Mary McEowen, and Andrew, the third son of that marriage, was born 
February 17, 1756. He graduated at Princeton in 1775, and afterwards studied law 
under Governor Paterson, and was licensed to practice in 1775. He settled in New 
Brunswick, where he married a daughter of Judge John Bayard, of that place. He 
was elected to the House of Assembly in 1797, and to the Legislative Council in 
1798, from the county of Middlesex, and in November of the last year was appointed 
an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court This office he held until 1S03, when 
he was appointed to succeed the Hon. James Kinsey as Chief Justice. He was twice 
re-appointed at intervals of seven years, and finally left the bench in 1824, having 
worn the ermine with great acceptance for twenty six years. While Chief Justice 
he served one year in the Legislative Council (1820), and was for many years a 
prominent member of the Board of Trustees of Princeton College. Chief Justice 
Kirkpatrick was an accomplished scholar and a profound and able jurist. All agreed 
that as a Common Law Judge he had no superior. In his day law was esteemed a 
science, and to attain to a respectable knowledge of it needed careful and well- 
directed study. Professional reputation, rather than money, was the object of a 
lawyer's ambition. Mr. Kirkpatrick had the advantage while under the care of 
Governor Paterson, and his professional and judicial career showed how largely he 
profited by it. His appreciation of it, as well as his attachment to his preceptor, 
was manifested on all proper occasions. In an opinion delivered in the Supreme 
Court a short time before he left the bench, he speaks most gracefully of the Gov- 
ernor, and of the instruction he received from him while a student in his office, and 
afterward while in practice, for " he was always ready to communicate " He styles 
him "my master." The term was used reverentially. In former days it was not 
uncommon for students to be bound as apprentices, thus forming the relation of 
master and apprentice. It was not considered a degradation. The Chief Justice 
evidently deemed it an honor to have served under such a master. Many of the 
opinions of the Chief Justice, as we find them reported, are models which may be 
studied with advantage at this day, especially those on the law of real estates and 
the ancient principles on which it rests. They are terse, logical, and full of instruc- 
tion. He declared the law as a judge, leaving mere argument to the counsel. It 
was a common saying that he was born for his position, and it was true. His very 
look was judicial. No one could mistake it. His figure was tall and commanding, 
and his dark, lustrous eyes bespoke great intelligence and decision of character. 
His habit was to preside on the bench in full old-fashioned costume — a suit of black 
with knee breeches, white neck cloth, hair powdered and worn in a queue carefully 
adjusted. He was jealous of the dignity of his office, and his judicial deportment 
commanded universal respect. When at the circuits he always went into court 
attended by the vSherifF of the county and one or more of his tip staffs, with their 
badge of office, who conducted him to his seat. There was no occasion for the crier 
to proclaim silence. The presence of the Chief Justice at once ensured it. There 
are many who think that more attention to dignity by judges of the present day 



41 

would not be uabeconiing. After his retirement from the bench he lived in quiet, 
enjoying the comforts of domestic life and surrounded by many friends. He died at 
his residence in New Brunswick in 1831, aged about 75 years. 

We conclude by noticing briefly another of the favorite sons of Somerset, 
General John Frelinghuysen, the eldest son of Frederick Frelinghuysen, of the 
Revolution. He was born in the old mansion at Millstone in 1775, but resided after 
his maturity on the Raritan, half a mile west of Somerville. In the war of 1S12 he 
commanded the militia of Somerset County for a time at Sandy Hook, and after- 
wards served his fellow citizens in the Legislature ; then, for many years, he held the 
oflSce of Surrogate, until near his death. He was a man of great energy and decision 
of character, eminent as a Christian and philanthropist, and a promoter of everything 
that tended to the happiness of his fellowmen. On his tomb in the cemetery atSom. 
erville, is the following inscription : " Sacred to the memory of General John Fre- 
linghuysen, who died the loth day of April, 1833, in the 58th year of his age." A life of 
active usefulness and humble piety was distinguished by the affectionate esteem of his 
fellow citizens. His native county often bestowed upon him the public tributes of 
its confidence. Religion was with him a matter of pervading principle. He felt it 
to be his great business, and whether in the halls of legislation, amid the cares of 
oflBcial duty, or at his own domestic altar, in all his ways he sought to acknowledge 
God and show forth the praises of his Redeemer. Long will the grateful recollec- 
tions of his kindness be cherished by the sons and daughters of afifection. His heart 
and hands were always open to their claims. To his bereaved widow and children 
remain the rich consolations of his exemplary life and the precious assurance that 
for him "to die was gain." 

We have still other names of honor to enroll on our record of the men of 
Somerset, but are constrained to defer them for another paper. 



No. XIV.-MEN OF SOMERSET.— CONTINUED. 



RICHARD STOCKTON, son of Richard Stockton of the Revolution, was born 
at Princeton in 1764, and graduated in the College of New Jersey in 1779. 
In 1784, having been admitted to the bar as an attorney, he was called to the 
rank of Sergeant in the Supreme Court in September term, 1792. In 1796 he was 
elected to the Senate of the United States, and represented the State in that body 
until 1799, being associated part of the time with John Rutherford. He then 
resigned his seat and retired from public life. His advancement at the bar had been 
rapid, and he resolved to devote himself to his profession and to become master of 
it. The association with such at the court as Paterson, Kirkpatrick, Griffith, 
Ogden, and others of that stamp, stimulated an honorable ambition, and his in- 
fluence was soon felt throughout the State. His practice became extensive in all 
the Superior Courts, and it was his habit for many years to attend the Circuits in 
his native county and in one or two counties adjacent, thus keeping up his connec- 
tion with the people. 

Earnest and faithful study of legal history and principles as they were found in 
Coke and Blackstone and the ancient reports, placed him in due time at the head 
of the bar. He was known as the great common law lawyer. In the Supreme 
Court of the United States he attained a high standing among the counsellors of 
that day. His cases were always prepared with great care, showing a most thorough 
understanding of his subject. In argument he was clear and logical, a close 
reasoner, and singularly forcible in his delivery. Mr. Stockton had a high sense of 
professional honor, and held no communion with those whom he deemed wanting 
in that trait. By some he was considered reserved and difficult of access, but that 
was not his habit or character. He treated with courtesy and respect all who 
respected themselves, and was remarkably kind to those on whom he felt he could 
rely, especially the younger members of the bar. To some of them he was warmly 
attached, and they looked up to him with almost filial reverence. In court his 
manner was always dignified, such as to command admiration and respect. His 
example aided in no small degree to give that elevated tone to the bar which was 
its adornment for many years, and which has not entirely disappeared. 

During the latter years of his life Mr. Stockton withdrew from the more active 
duties of the bar, and confined himself to the argument of cases in the Superior 
Courts. His attention was turned more to his farm, and he divided his time between 
agriculture, law and the society of his family and friends. Thus he lived at the old 
family seat, " Morven," unttt his death, which occurred in 1828. 

He never sought office. In 1812, just after the commencement of the war, he 
was urged to represent his district in Congress. He gave a reluctant consent, and 
having been elected took his seat in the Thirteenth Congress. He was an active 
member and soon proved that he was not only a lawyer but a statesman. He was 
well versed in national affairs and able in debate. His celebrated speech on the 
"Conscription Bill " attracted undivided attention. It was a fine specimen of 



43 

oratory, admired even by those who did not agree with him in his political opinions. 
In 1827 he was appointed one of the Commissioners to settle the boundary between 
this State and the State of New York. His associates were men of high character, 
and the correspondence which finally led to an agreement was conducted with 
marked ability. In this, it is understood, Mr. Stockton took a large share. 

Samuel L. Southard, the son of Hon. Henry Southard, was born at Basking 
Ridge, June 9, 1787. He obtained his classical education at the academy in his 
native place and graduated with high honor at Princeton. He went almost imme- 
diately afterwards to Virginia, where he spent several years in teaching, at the same 
time pursuing the study of the law, and was in due time admitted to the bar. Re- 
turning to his native State, he was, in 1814, admitted to practice there as a counsellor. 
He soon rose to eminence and distinguished himself, particularly in the succeeding 
year, in an argument before the Legislature, in what is known as the " Steamboat 
Case." His eloquence so impressed his audience that the conclusion drew forth a 
universal burst of applause, and it was some time before order could be restored. 
From that moment he held the first rank in his profession in New Jersey. In the 
Autumn of the same year, 1815, he was chosen a member of the Assembly from 
Hunterdon County, his residence being in Flemington. He had been only one 
week in the Legislature when he was elected to a seat on the bench of the Supreme 
Court of New Jersey, being only twenty-eight years of age. In this station he con- 
tinued until 1821, when he was sent to the United States Senate. Here he had a 
wide sphere, and his distinguished abilities enabled him to fill it as much to his own 
honor as to the benefit of his constituents. In 1823, President Monroe called him 
into his Cabinet by appointing him Secretary of the Navy. When John Q. Adams 
was chosen President he solicited him to retain his place, and he did so until his 
term expired. His energy and business talent effected a material change for the 
benefit of the Navy department, and the exploring expedition owed its first concep- 
tion to his enterprise. 

Returning to his native State, when Jackson came into the Presidency, he was 
soon appointed Attorney General, and then elected by the Legislature as Governor 
of the State. In 1833, he went again into the United States Senate, and was re- 
elected to a second term. Then he took rank among the first statesmen and ablest 
speakers, and probably there has never been a period when the United States con- 
tained a brighter galaxy of talented men. In 1841, he was appointed Vice President 
of the Senate, and on the death of General Harrison and the succession of John 
Tyler to the Presidency, he became the permanent presiding officer. But his career 
was ending. On the 26th day of June, 1842, he died at Fredericksburg, Virginia. 

Mr. Southard was, in his day, one of the most eminent men in his native State. 
His mental powers were of a superior order, his eloquence fervid and overpowering, 
and when he spoke he threw his whole soul into his subject. It was a necessity, 
therefore, that he should be impressive and convincing. His speeches in the Senate 
and on other public occasions exhibit both scholarship and refined taste. They are 
models of eloquence. His burning heart is poured forth in them, and when men 
listened they were often completely carried away. 

Frederick Frelinghuysen, the youngest son of General Frederick Freling- 
huysen, of the Revolution. He was born at Millstone, in the year 1788. His father 
lived at the time in the old homestead in the village, a large and commodious man- 
sion, which was destroyed by fire many years afterwards. A print of it is to be found 
in the New Jersey historical collections. His classical education was under the care 
of the Rev. Dr. Finley, at the Academy at Basking Ridge. From thence he went 



44 

to the College of New Jersey and gradnateJ in 1806. His father died while he was 
at college, and the paternal estate was divided between his brother Theodore and 
himself, he retaining that part on which the mansion stood. After retiring from 
college he commenced reading law under the care of his brother. Colonel John 
Frelinghuysen. The last year of his clerkship was spent in the office and under the 
direction of Richard Stockton, at Princeton. In 1810 he was admitted to the bar 
and commenced practicing in the country village where he was brought up, and 
residing on his farm, which was immediately adjacent. It was not the custom of 
that day for lawyers to congregate in the county towns. They seemed to have 
thought that if their services were needed clients would know where to find them. 
There was not a lawyer in Somerville, the county seat, until iSio, when George 
McDonald, Esq., removed there from Middle Brook, where he had practiced a num- 
ber of years. 

Mr. Frelinghuysen rose rapidly in his profession. He had a large field and was 
favorably known by reputation throughout the county. The older members of the 
profession who then attended the courts of the county, especially the Circuits, were 
men of high character for learning and probity. They gave tone to the bar, which 
excited their younger brothers to honorable ambition. In 1814 Mr. Frelinghuysen 
was admitted a counsellor in the Supreme Court, and soon took rank in that court 
as a young man of promise. His brother Theodore, having been elected Attorney 
General of the State in 1817, he was soon after appointed by him his deputy for the 
counties of Hunterdon and Somerset, a position which he filled with great accept- 
ance in both counties, and continued to occupy until his death in November, 1820. 

There was deep sorrow in many hearts when it was announced that Frederick 
Frelinghuysen was no more. He was but thirty-two years of age, and had been 
but a short time in public life, yet he had possessed himself in a remarkable degree 
of the confidence and esteem of the community. It may truly be said that no young 
man of his age ever entrenched himself more firmly in the affections of the people. 
He was kind and helpful to his neighbors, and always pleased to counsel and assist 
them. They looked up to him, and justly, as a never failing friend and benefactor. 

Mr. Frelinghuysen had a warm heart and a genial disposition, and was liberal 
almost to a fault. In his manner there was a gentleness and often playfulness 
which was always attractive, and won the admiration of those with whom he came 
in contact. He had genius and wit, and at times his wit was sharp, but his good 
humor and kindness prevented it from wounding. 

He was fond of domestic life. Soon after coming to the bar he married and 
settled in the old mansion. Providence blessed him with a family which made 
home delightful, and there he loved to rest after the toil of courts and trials were 
over. One of his character naturally drew to himself many warm friends. He 
took pleasure in having them around him that he might enjoy their society, and his 
house was widely known as the abode of refined and generous hospitality. 

Mr. Frelinghuysen was known as a farmer as well as a lawyer. His farm was a 
pleasant recreation, and it was his habit when at home to visit every part of it daily, 
so as to watch its improvement and give all necessary directions. 

As a lawyer his acquirements and reputation were in advance of his years. 
Although a counsellor of but few years standing, we find that he was engaged in 
the Supreme Court, and acting as counsel in jury trials before the whole court at 
bar. These trials were not of frequent occurrence, and the best legal talent of the 
State was generally enlisted in them. As an advocate, when addressing a jury, he 
was happy and persuasive, sometimes impassioned, and at all times a dangerous 



45 

adversary. He was quick of perception, and in argument before a court always 
commanded attention. An eloquent tribute was paid to bis wortb and cbaracter by 
the bar of the State at a meeting held at the Supreme Court soon after his death. 
The event was referred to with much feeling as an " afflicting dispensation of Divine 
Providence, which has deprived the bar of an honest and honorable man, peculiarly 
endeared to his country by the characteristic traits which distinguished him, not 
merely as an able lawyer and eloquent advocate, but as a Christian, a scholar and a 
gentleman." The meeting was presided over by Richard Stockton and was com- 
posed of many of the older members of the profession, all of whom mourned the 
loss of a young and promising brother. Such a testimonial from such a source has 
a value which time cannot impair. 

Mr. Frelinghuysen lived among a plain and honest people, and his life was one 
of purity and uprightness. His religious education was in the church of his father, 
to whose doctrines and worship he was thoroughly attached. In 1820 he made an 
address before the Somerset County Bible Society at an annual meeting by special 
request. It was a marked production, showing that his mind was deeply imbued 
with religious principle. It was not long after that his dying testimony was given 
to the truth and saving power of that gospel which he had sought to disseminate 
and which his pious and distinguished ancestors had largely helped to plant in our 
midst. 

It is more than fifty years since Mr. Frelinghuysen died. To the present gen- 
eration what we have written is a matter of history or tradition. There are, how- 
ever, a few yet living, here and there one, to whom his life and character are precious 
recollections and who love to cherish his memory. 

One of the most worthy and most honored sons of Somerset was Theodore Fre- 
linghuysen, the second son of the Hon. Frederick Frelinghuysen, of the Revolution. 
He was born in Franklin township, March 28, 1787. His classical education was 
obtained first in the Grammar School of Queen's College, New Brunswick, and then 
at Basking Ridge ; and he graduated in 1804 from Princeton. He studied law with 
his brother John at Raritan, and received license in due time. Choosing the city of 
Newark for the future field of his activities, he was soon appointed Attorney General 
of the State, then a Senator in the United States Congress, then Chancellor of the 
University of New York, then President of Rutgers College, where he died on April 
12, 1862. Mr. Frelinghuysen was one of the best of men. A Christian in sentiment, 
in conduct, in his devotions. No man could approach him without feeling awed by 
the power of his goodness. In a family all eminent for practical piety, he was 
decidedly the most eminent. The Christian galaxy lost a star of the first magnitude 
when he went to heaven. He was an eloquent man at the bar and in the Senate, a 
wise and patriotic statesman, a man of learning and a philanthropist ; but more 
than all, "a good man." 

Beside the men whom we have characterized and spoken of in this and in pre- 
ceeding numbers, we notice only to name them : George iMcDonald, of Somerville, 
a lawyer of repute in his day, and Judge Blackford ; both removed to Indiana ; 
Dr. Samuel Swan, who represented the county of Somerset in Congress; Andrew 
Howell, a citizen of influence and a member of the Legislature; Dr. Peter I. 
Stryker, a physician and a statesman ; Colonel Isaac Southard, Clerk of the county 
and a member of Congress in 1832; Dr. Garret Tunison, a surgeon in the army 
during the Revolution. All of them public men and honored by public confidence. 
It is not, however, as " First Things " that we introduce their names here, but 
rather to complete our catalogue. 



46 

Before we conclude our notices of the men of Somerset we briefly allude also to 
Commodore R. F. Stockton, of Princeton. Besides being an ofl5cer in the navy, 
he was also a Senator in Congress and the father of John P. Stockton, also a Senator 
from New Jersey, and afterwards Attorney General of the State. 

We cannot omit the name of William L. Dayton, a native of Basking Ridge. 
He studied law with Ex Governor Vroom at Somerville, after graduating at Prince- 
ton. He settled in Freehold and was very soon elected a member of the Legislature, 
then elevated to the bench of the Supreme Court, and then succeeded Samuel L. 
Southard in the United States Senate, and was re-appointed ; went as Minister to 
France, and died in the city of Paris. 

We have only one concluding remark. It has reference rather to the inhabitants 
of Somerset than its public men. It is that they have been mostly a long-lived 
race. Three score and ten, and often even four score of years, have been embraced 
in their alloted portion of life. On both sides of the Raritan River, and we now 
especially write of three and four generations of old men, have frequently occupied 
the same homesteads in succession, and died "full of years." Being temperate 
men, moral and Christian men, living in abundance, and breathing a pure atmos- 
phere, they generally waxed old and "died in full age." There is no part of our 
beautiful State which is able to point to a race of men more generallj- prosperous, 
respected and happy than the men who have lived in the valley of the Raritan 
and its branches, and many of them in their day were eminent examples of the 
practice and display of all the Christian virtues and the comfort and happiness 
resulting from such a well-ordered life. 



No. XV. -HISTORICAL HOUSES. 



WE cannot, in our new country, make any pretensions to the possessions of his- 
torical localities, such as abound in England, Scotland and on the continent 
of Europe, generally. We have, as yet, no "hoary antiquities" to boast, 
no castellated crags or hill-tops, forts and strong holds. Comparatively, we are but 
of yesterday, and know nothing ; and yet we are beginning to possess some things 
in which we may take a little pride— a very little, perhaps— on account of the his- 
torical associations connected with them. We have on this account, ventured to 
name a few " historical houses " in Somerset county Notice has already been 
taken of Kell's Hall, (Archibald Campbell's house), Phil's Hill, (Philip Van Horn's 
house), lately John Herbert's, the Codrington house, now George LaMonte's, the old 
house of John Campbell on the river side, just above the Bound Brook turnpike bridge. 
There are others beside these around which memories cluster, also, which will live 
long — long after the houses themselves have mouldered into dust aud are visible 
no more. 

The old Abraham Staats house, just below Bound Brook, on the east side of the 
turnpike and near the river, in which Baron Steuben had his winter quarters in 
1778-9, stands yet in a comfortable state of preservation (now owned and occupied 
by Cornelius LaTourette). Here that noble Prussian, whose love of liberty induced 
him to give the aid of his personal influence to our almost fainting cause, slept, and 
thought, and planned, during those long winter nights, when hope had hardly yet 
dawned upon the struggling efforts for American liberty. His dignified manners, 
his splendid gold medal set in diamonds, a present from old Frederick the Great, 
King of Prussia, designating the order of " Fidelity," are visible to our imagination 
when we visit the sacred spot ; General and Mrs. Washington coming to dine with 
him, and other gentlemen and ladies accompanying them — the entertainment of 
" the Bar, " given the American officers there, when the tables were spread in a 
grove near bj', all give the old Staats house an abiding interest in future times. This 
was early in June, 1779, just before the encampment at Middlebrook was broken up, 
and was a great display of its kind. Yes, the old Staats house is "an historical 
house." 

The house in which Hendrick Fisher resided below Bound Brook, cu the road 
to Middlebush. Fisher was a prominent man in his day, aud his memory ought to 
be more cherished than it has been. He stood foremost as a patriot in the early days 
of our revolution ; was member of the first Congress, of the committee of safet}', and 
held many other delicate public trusts. His remains, we are told, lie interred on his 
homestead, awaiting the resurrection of the just. His religious principles were as 
firm and active as his patriotism. [The old house now standing at the easterly end 
of Main street in Boun J Brook, now occupied by Essex A. Yawger as a stone cutter, 
was occupied by General Lincoln, and in which he was surprised on April 13, 1777, 
is in a decaying condition, but is of great interest and should be preserved. — Ed.] 

Passing over " the mountains we visit Lord Sterling's mansion ' house, on the 



48 

flats southeast of Basking Ridge, built about 1761, as a summer retreat, but adopted 
afterwards as a permanent residence. Sterling, when coming to Basking Ridge, 
had just returned from Europe, ard told the following anecdote of his having been 
introduced to a Mrs. Drummond, by her husband, at a dinner, after he had informed 
her that he had that day invited "a native American " to dine with him. When 
the introduction took place the good woman, mystified by the words "native Ameri- 
can," exclaimed in broad Scotch, " Mie God, the awnimaal is wheete." She 
expected to see the "copper color" of an American Indian. Sterling resided at 
Basking Ridge, improving his manor and developing the manufactory of iron in 
Morris county, until the war of the revolution called him to the field. The place 
was long known as " Sterling's buildings." 

Another is the house in which General Charles Lee was taken prisoner by Col- 
onel Harcourt, leading a scouting party of British cavalry on the nth of December, 
1776. It was then called " White's tavern," and kept as a public house by a widow 
lady named White. It is the last house on the south end of the main street of the 
village. It has been enlarged and somewhat improved since that day. Lee was 
blamed greatly for his dilatoriness and disregard of orders. He was completely sur- 
prised when he imagined himself secure ; taken out of his bed and hurried away in 
a most unceremonious manner as a prisoner, into the British camp. Though ex- 
changed in 1778 for General Prescott, he never recovered the lost confidence result- 
ing from his capture, and was finally court-martialed for his conduct in the battle of 
Monmouth. 

In Bedminster township, on the south .bauk of the North Branch, half a mile 
below Kline's Mills, and formerly the residence of Job Lane, Esq., now owned and 
occupied by Peter Welsh, stands the house in which resided the Rev. Mr. McCrea, 
minister of the Presbyterian Church of Lamington, and the father of Jane McCrea, 
murdered by the Indians near Fort Edward, July 27, 1777, when Burgoyne was on 
his way to Saratoga, and defeated and surrendered there. The Rev. Mr. McCrea 
had previously lived in a house on the west side of Lamington river, which was 
removed to be joined to another and formed a part of the old mansion, since burned, 
in which the Rev. Dr. Messier was born. The kitchen, standing a few feet from the 
mansion house, was always said to have been Rev. Mr. McCrea's study. The 
romance connected with Jennie McCrea's death gave it a wide notoriety, and had 
no little influence in exciting indignation against Burgoyne for employing the 
savages against the peaceful inhabitants of Washington county, many of whom were 
in fact "royalists," and even Captain David Jones, the lover of Jennie, and the 
McNiels, in whose house she was staying, were all inclined to the British side. Mrs. 
McNiel was lin fact a cousin of General Eraser, of the British army, killed at Sara- 
toga, and strongly sympathized with Burgoyne. 

The Miller house in Somerville, built by William Wallace, and inhabited by 
General and Mrs. Washington, in the winter of 177S-9, and kept in exactly the state 
in which it was then, is a proud historical monument. How many fond memories 
cluster around it ; and what pity, that that large white oak tree, under which Mrs. 
Washington so often sat in the spring of 1779, was sacrificed to "the woodman's 
axe." It would have been a precious relic now, if it had been spared from destruc- 
tion. 

The old parsonage in Somerville, built in 1750-1, by Rev. John Frelinghuysen, 
with bricks imported from Holland, in which Dr. Hardenburgh resided during the 
whole of the Revolution, sleeping with a loaded gun beside his bed, and where Gen- 
eral Washington so often visited him and his accomplished wife. [This is the house 



49 

now occupied by Joshua Doughty, at the foot of Doughty avenue, south of the rail- 
road. — Ed.] What a pleasure to recall these comniuniugs between two such noble 
men. What an interest Ithey would inspire now, had they been preserved. We 
should probably be entirely satisfied in reference to the truly religious character of 
the Commander-in-Chief, if we had a narrative of these conversations. Dr. Harden- 
burgh probably knew him more intimately than any other minister of the gospel, 
except his own pastor in Virginia. Here Hardenburgh, Lejdt, Van Nest, Jackson 
and others studied theology with John Frelinghuysen. It was, in fact, the first Theo- 
logical Seminary in the Dutch Church. 

The following is a personal letter written by Dr. Messier to 'Jcshua Doughty, 
the owner of the house in 1848, in relation to this old building : 

Joshua Doughty, Esq.: 

Dear Sir — I cheerfully comply with your request to detail briefly the history 
of your house, as it is found in the records of our church, in connection with family 
traditions, derived from those who have been immeoiately connected with it. It 
was built, as the date upon it shows, in 1 751, by the Rev. Theodorus Jacobus Freling- 
huysen, the first missionary and pastor of the church at Raritan. John Frelinghuy- 
sen returned from Holland, where he had been sent to complete his theological 
education in 1750, having received a call while there to become the pastor of Rari- 
tan, in the room of his father who deceased during his absence. During his residence 
there he had married Dinah Van Bergh, a daughter of Lewis Van Bergh, a merchant 
of Amsterdam, who had accumulated a large fortune in the East Indian trade. The 
house was built according to her directions, and with her money, and intended, and 
used during his life as a Theological Seminary. John Leydt, William Jackson, 
Rynier Van Nest, Jacobus Rutzen Hardenbergh, and others obtained their theolo- 
gical knowledge in it, under his instructions, and became ministers in the Reformed 
Dutch Church. 

Frelinghuysen's ministry was a brief, but a splendid one. He died after being 
the pastor of Raritan about three and a half years. At the time of his decease J. R. 
Hardenberg was residing in his family, and in the course of the year married his 
widow, and in 1758 received a call as the pastor of Raritan. He occupied the same 
house as long as he continued to reside in New Jersey, which appears to have been 
until 1781. During the revolution Washington was a frequent visitor at his house, 
and his descendants say that he made it for a time his headquarters That both he 
and Mrs. Washington frequently enjoyed the hospitalities of Dr. Hardenbergh is 
certain. 

One of the most pleasing reminiscences connected with the place, however, is 
that it so long sheltered and was the sanctuary of the piety of Dinah Van Bergh, 
usually styled Jeffrow Hardenbergh, a lady whose refinement, intellectual cultivation 
and piety made her one of the most eminent of her day. There is yet in existence 
a diary which she wrote while here, containing reminiscences of her early life and 
religious energies, which proves all that has been said of her excellence ; and the 
place will be hallowed by having been the scene of such a pure and holy life. From 
the time of its erection until about 1798 or 9, it was used as the parsonage of the 
church at Raritan. The ministers all resided there. Frelinghuysen, Hardenbergh, 
Romeyn and Duryea were sheltered all the time of their sojourn at Raritan under 
its roof. After the date above specified it was sold, and was occupied by different 
individuals, until it fell into your hands. It is one of the oldest places in this region 
and has more interest connected with its owners and occupants and use than any 
other in this section of the country. No one acquainted with its history can fail to 
feel that interest deeply and no one should wonder that it is due to you. 

Itremainsamid the Changes which time is making, a relic of the past, and re-calls 
continually the associations of bygone days. The very bricks of which it is com- 
posed came from the Fatherland (Holland), that soil so deeply consecrated by the 
blood of the martyrs of the civil and religious liberty. That you may never see it 
desecrated, but live long to enjoy its comforts and its sacred associations is the sin- 
cere desire of my heart These are the principal facts which my researches in the 
history of the past have brought to my knowledge, and they are cheerfully furnished 



50 

to be used as you may think proper. The evidence of their truth is such as to leave 
no room for any doubt as to any one of them in my mind. 

Yours with sincere respect, 

Abraham Messler, 
Somerville, April 17, 1848. 

The Paterson house, unfortunately razed to the ground, [on land now owned by A. 
H. Brokaw, west of Raritan], where Mrs. Stephen Van Rensallaer spent her youth, 
and which she remembered so fondly, where Aaron Burr, General Morton, of New 
York, and John Young Noell studied law, and probably also Frederick Frelinghuysen, 
Andrew Kirkpatrick and George M. Troup, Governor of Georgia. It ought to have 
been spared by the spirit of improvement. In old countries they do not sacrifice 
such precious relics, but keep them as a sacred trust ; and so we should do — our 
pride ought to be their protection ; for the memories around them are precious. 
How many years Governor Paterson lived on the Raritan is not known to the writer. 
He removed to New Brunswick after the war, and died there in 1806. His name is 
one of our proud and most favored possessions. 

On Rocky Hill stands at the present time the former mansion of Judge Berrien, 
in which Washington wrote his farewell address to the army, Congress being in 
session at Princeton, November 24, 1783. The president of Congress, it is said, 
address-ed him in a complimentarj' manner to which he replied, and then retired. 
A house was provided for him at Rocky Hill, where he resided, holding conference 
from time to time with committees and members of Congress, and giving counsel 
on such subjects as were referred to his consideration. A large part of the officers 
and soldiers had been permitted, during the summer, to retire from the army on 
furlough, and Congress issued a proclamation on the 18th of October, discharging 
them from further service, together with all others who had been engaged to serve 
during the war. The army was thus in effect disbanded. A small force only was 
retained, consisting of such troops as had been enlisted for a definite time, till the 
peace establishment should be organized. Here is another landmark which ought to 
be preserved. Time is working changes enough without destroying these oid homes 
of history. [This house has within the past two years been removed from its old 
foundations to a location about half a mile from where it formerly stood, and has 
passed into the hands of an association for preservation. — Ed.] This proclamation 
was followed by Washington's farewell address to the army and then his circular to 
the States. To his cordial and affectionate thanks for thedevotednessof the officers 
and soldiers to him through the war, and for the manner in which they had dis- 
charged their duty, he adds reasonable advice as to their conduct in resuming the 
characters of private citizens and in contributing to the support of civil government. 
"Let it be known and remembered," said he, " that the reputation of the Federal 
armies is established beyond the reach of malevolence ; and let the consciousness of 
their achievements andjifame still incite the men who composed them to honorable 
actions ; under the persuasion that the private virtues of econony, prudence and in- 
dustry, will not be less amiable in civil life than the more splendid qualities of 
valor, perseverance and enterprise were in the field. Every one may rest assured 
that much, very much, of the future happiness of the officers and men will depend 
upon the wise and manly conduct which shall be adopted by them, when they are 
mingled with the great body of the community." Although the General has so fre- 
quently given his opinion, in the most public and explicit manner, that " unless the 
principles of the Federal Government were properly supported, and the powers of 
the union increased, the honor, dignity and justice of the nation will be lost for- 



51 

ever," yet he cannot help repeating on this occasion so interesting a sentiment, 
and leaving, as his last injunction to every oflScer and every soldier, who may view 
the subject in the same serious point of light, to add his best endeavors to those of his 
worthy fellow citizens toward effecting these great and valuable purposes, on which 
our existence, as a nation, so naturally depends. 

On the east side of the North Branch there stands a brick house in which 
resided Captain Isaac Brokaw, killed in the battle of Germantown. To this house 
Washington went while he was living in Somerville, on a visit of condolence to the 
widow. We have always thought this incident one of the most beautiful exhibitions 
of his most extraordinary life. What a heart the great man had, and he could con- 
ceive of the grief of a lone widow, made so in one of his battles, and ride several 
miles to see her and express his sympathy for her great loss. Of what other hero is 
the same tenderness recorded ? The house is now owned by Mr. Nevius, whose wife 
is a great grand-daughter of Captain Brokaw. 

While General and Mrs. Washington were living in the Miller house, General 
Knox and General Green and their wives were also quartered in the vicinity ot 
Somerville ; but where, exactly, we have not been able to ascertain. There were 
ofiBcers at Van Horn's, near Middle Brook, at Van Veghten's, on the Raritan, and 
at the Dumont house, owned at present by Mr. Gildersleeve. [This property is now 
owned by William Snyder. — Ed.] Captain Esty recollected carrying messages from 
the latter place often to Washington, but did not state from whom they came. It is 
remembered that one of them was a French officer, but the names are lost. 

Queen's College was located for a time at the John Protest Dumont house, near 
the junction of the Branches, in 1779, and Colonel John Taylor, who was the prin- 
cipal instructor in the institution, wrote from thence September 25, excusing his 
delay in rendering a full report of the officers and the condition of the various regi- 
ments in the State on account of his duties in the College, and the imperfect reports 
he had received from subordinates. Indeed, the College had for several years quite 
a peripatetic character, being temporarily located in more than one place. At one 
time, at least, it was at Millstone. 

Then we are reminded of Tusculum, the residence of Dr. Witherspoon, and 
"Morven," the seat of the Stocktons for three or four generations, standing as land- 
marks in the flowing tide of time. 

The Kirkpatrick house, at Mine Brook, built by David Kirkpatrick as if it was 
to stand forever, with solid two feet stone walls, and a double white oak floor of two 
inch planks, is also worthy of remembrance. 

The Linn house, the old Boyd house at Lamington, now destroyed, where so 
many young men were trained for college by the good Dominie before academies 
were known ; Dr. Finley's house, and the Southard house in Basking Ridge, the 
Ludlow house on Long Hill, the Frelinghuysen house at Millstone, and that in 
which Lawrence Vander Veer resided in Roycefield, andjthe Schenck house below 
Millstone, are all worthy of remembrance by the generation to come. 

I am assured, also, that there was in a very early day a mill on the Raritan, 
just above the Flemington railroad bridge, and below it was the ford used in cross- 
ing until the Covered Bridge was erected. There was also a dam in the river a short 
distance above the Landing Bridge, the only one in the river ever built until the 
canal was dug, which gave dissatisfaction to the inhabitants above, because it pre- 
vented their shad fishing in the Spring. 

With these local remembrances we close our notice of the interesting localities 
and historical houses — at least for the present. 



No. XVI.— WASHINGTON AND DR. HARDENBURGH. 



IN the winter of 1778 and 1779, while Washington had his quarters in Caleb 
Miller's (now the Wallace) house, Dr. Hardenburgh was residing next door in 
the parsonage. A friendship grew up naturally between them as the result of 
almost daily intercourse. They were, in many respects, men of the same spirit, 
although one was a warrior and the other a minister of the gospel of peace. Dr. 
Hardenburg had not yet lost his church, and there can be little doubt that Washing- 
ton, sometimes at least, attended divine service on the banks of the Raritan in the 
house which was afterwards burned, for he was a respecter of religion and careful 
not to seem to neglect, far less to oppose it. 

The fruits of this intercourse and friendship are seen in several public orders 
issued to the army while at Raritan. His general orders quartering his army, dated 
September 17, 1778, cautioning against unnecessary injury to persons or property 
belonging to the inhabitants, and forbidding peremptorily any trespasses. Again, 
on October 28, an order against horse racing, and what marks the coincidence and 
the inspiration, is that the minutes of the church show a protest about the same 
time, written no doubt by Dr. Hardenburgh, against " cock fighting, shooting 
matches and horse racing.' Still again, November 19, 1778, another series of orders 
directed against the prevailing practice of profane swearing, reprobating and forbid- 
ding it in the army. 

But there are two other papers arising out of this intercourse and friendship, 
which we have reserved for this place. The first is entitled an address of the Minis- 
ter, Elders and Deacons of the Dutch Reformed Church of Raritan, presented to His 
Excellency, George Washington, Commander in Chief of the Armies of the United 
States of North America, and is as follows : 

May it please your Excellency : 

We, the consistory of the Dutch Reformed Church of Raritan, beg leave to 
embrace this opportunity to declare to your Excellency the real sentiments of our 
hearts. 

As we would wish to adore the directing hand of Providence, so we are bound 
to acknowledge that spirit of patriotism which has induced your Excellency to 
sacrifice the sweets of an affluent domestic life, to put yourself and your most 
amiable and virtuous consort to repeated and afflicting separations, for no other rea- 
son than defending the just rights ard liberties 01 our bleeding country. Here, sir, 
permit us to express our grateful sense of your Excellency's care and vigilance for 
this part of our country, in the trying winter of the year 1777, when after two mem- 
orable victories, your Excellency, by masterly strokes of generalship, defended us 
by a handful of undisciplined militia against the depredation of a formidable army 
of our enemies, collected and quartered in our vicinity. We cannot help admiring 
that gracious Providence which has made the success and victories of your arms to 
bear down the remembrance of discouraging disappointments, and we cordially hope 
that the agreeable prospect of a speedy termination of the present trouble, in favor 
of our distressed nation, may fully answer your and our wishes, and support your 
Excellency under the present weight of perplexing cares and concerns, inseparable 
from your station. 



53 

Though the quartering of armies among citizens is always attended with un- 
avoidable inconveniences to the latter, yet we are agreeably constrained to acknowl- 
edge that your Excellency has been pleased to take particular care, throughout the 
course of this last winter to prevent and alleviate these calamities as much as possi- 
ble. Your Excllency's concern for the support of civil government in its just and 
equitable execution, has endeared you to our fellow-citizens ; and the strict disci- 
pline which the gentlemanly ofiBcers under your Excellency's more immediate 
command at this place have observed not only at headquarters but also throughout 
the body of this army, we are persuaded has merited the approbation and applause 
of the good people of this neighborhood. 

We beg your Excellency will do us the justice to believe us sincere, when we 
declare our affections and true regard for your person, and the deep sense which we 
entertain of the important services your Excellency and the gentlemen oflficers and 
soldiers under your command have rendered their country in the course of this 
severe contest. And we assure you, sir, that we shall deem it our duty and privilege 
to make our warmest addresses to the God of armies for the preservation of your 
health and your invaluable life — as also that of the brave officers and soldiers of 
your army — praying that indulgent Heaven may direct your counsels and crown 
your exertions in the ensuing campaign, with such victories and success as shall 
compel a haughty and relentless enemy to consent to the terms of a safe, honorable 
and lasting peace. 

Signed by order of the Consistory, 

June I, 1779. Jacob R. Hardenburgh, V. D. M. 

This is quite a courtly document, indeed, but it expressi s the sentiments of a 
noble man, in a case where patriotism and humanity were both concerned. Its 
warmth breathes not only admiration but friendship, and it forms a reminiscence of 
those times, the value of which cannot well be overestimated. It proves the friend- 
ship of Washington and Hardenburgh. 

This interesting document was succeeded the next day, June 2, 1779, by an 
answer, of which the following is a literal copy, dated Camp Middlebrook, and ad- 
dressed — 

Gentlemen: To meet the approbation of good men cannot but be agreeable. 
Your affectionate expressions make it more so. In quartering an army and supply- 
ing its wants, distress and inconveniences will often occur to the citizen. I feel 
myself happy in the consciousness that these have been strictly limited by necessity ; 
and in your opinion of my attention to the rights of my fellow citizens. I thank you, 
gentlemen, sincerely for the sense you entertain of the conduct of the army, and for 
the interest you take in my welfare. I trust the goodness of the cause and the 
exertions of the people, under Divine protection, will give us that honorable peace for 
which we are contending. Suffer me, gentlemen, to wish the Dutch Reformed 
Church at Raritan a long continuance of its present minister and consistory, and all 
the blessings which flow from piety and religion. 

I am, &c., Geo. Washington. 

A noble answer, showing how fully he appreciated the noble sentiments to which 
he was responding. These documents are alike honorable to both parties, and form 
a precious memorial of the times, and of the sentiments and men who uttered them. 

We append to these interesting memorials of our revolution two other public 
documents which seem to find here their most appreciated place. 

General Orders, Morris House, July 29, 1779 — Many and pointed orders 
have been issued against that untueaning and abominable custom of swearing, not- 
withstanding which, with much regret, the General observes it prevails, if possible, 
more than ever ; his feelings are continually wounded by the oaths and imprecations 
of the soldiers whenever he is in hearing of them. 



54 

The name of the Being from whose bountiful goodness we are permitted to exist 
and enjoy the comforts of life, is incessantly imprecated and profaaed in a manner 
as wanton as it is shocking. 

For the sake therefore, of religion, decency and order, the General hopes and 
trusts that oflScers of every rank will use their influence and authority to check a 
vice which is as unprofitable as it is wretched and shameful. If the ofiBcers would 
make it an invariable rule to reprimand, and if that does not do, to punish soldiers 
for offenses of this kind, it would not fail of having the desired effect. 

The following minutes of a public meeting at Millstone are interesting as evi- 
dence of the pressure of the burdens of the war, and the patriotic spirit in which it 
is proposed to meet them : 

At a meeting of the electors of the County of Somerset, pursuant to notice by 
advertisement on Thursday, 3d inst., at the Court House of said county. 

The business of the meeting being introduced and discussed, the following 
resolutions were adopted : 

Whereas, The concurrence of a variety of causes, the bills of credit emitted under 
the authority of the Uaited States in Congress assembled, have greatly depre- 
ciated in their value, and in addition to the quantity circulating, will tend to 
increase such depreciation ; therefore. 

Resolved, That a petition be presented to the legislature, requesting them to 
make application to Congress on behalf of this State, that the emission of bills of 
credit be henceforth discontinued. 

Resolved, That the legislature be requested to make application as aforesaid, 
that a plan be adopted and recommended for a general limitation of prices through- 
out the United States, according to which such prices may be diminished slowly 
from the present time or at stated periods and by small differences, until the quan- 
titj' of money be reduced by taxation to what is necessary for a circulating medium. 

And Whereas, Taxation is the most natural and beneficial source from which 
to derive the supplies necessary for supporting the army and carrying on the war, 

Resolved, That the legislature be requested to make application as aforesaid 
that requisitions of taxes be henceforward made on the States for the above pur- 
poses, and that to avoid as far as possible the expense of purchasing in the modes 
hitherto practiced, and the necessity of such large circulations of money through the 
public treasury, a just quota of provisions, forage and other necessaries for the 
army, be laid upon each State, in such kind as they are severally suited to produce, 
to be paid in the way of tax at regulated prices by those who raise them while those 
who do not pay a fair proportion in money. 

Resolved, That it be expressed to the legislature as the sense of this meeting, 
that on levying all future taxes and aids for the use of the State and Union in gen- 
eral, the assessments be made according to the value of all property possessed by 
each individual ; it being reasonable that persons should be taxed for their money, 
their income, the faculty and means of acquiring property, or for any estate what- 
soever. 

Whereas, There is great reason to believe that many persons employed in various 
branches of the public department of the United States are guilty of misman- 
agement and fraud, in the execution of their trust and applying the public 
money, and there being no ready and regular mode presented by public 
authority, of which such as are disposed may avail themselves, to furnish the 
necessary information to those who have power to correct such abuses and 
thereby to prevent unnecessary increase of the public burdens. 
Resolved, That the Legislature be requested to direct some convenient and ade- 
quate means of collecting and transmitting to Congress, or to such Board or Com- 
mittee by them appointed, as may be adequate in point of jurisdiction, or to the 
executive power of the State in cases where that is competent, all such authentic 
evidences and documents as can be procured, that the guilty may be punished and 
the faithful servants of the public may be rescued from that indiscriminate censure 



55 

which the bad and Qnworthy bring upon all, and that we will exert our utmost 
endeavors for effecting so laudable a purpose. 

Whereas Virtue and good morals are not only productive of individual happiness, 
but have a great and extensive good effect upon the political state of every 
government when thej' are cultivated. 
Resolved, That we will, by our example and influence, endeavor to promote 
these, and will look upon it as the course of duty to support and strengthen the arm 
of the civil authority in detecting and bringing to deserved punishment all such as 
are guilty of profanity, immorality, extravagance, idleness and dissipation, of extor- 
tion, sharping and oppression, and all such practices as tend to the unjust advantage 
of individuals and detriment of the community. 

Ordered, That a representation and petition to the Legislature be drawn up pur- 
suant to these resolutions and signed by the chairman, and that the representatives 
of this county be requested to lay the same before the respective houses. 
Extracted from the minutes of proceedings and published by order, 

Wm. C. Haston, Chairman. 



No. XVIL— SERVITURE AND SLAVES. 



WE give some notes on the subject of serviture and slaves. Servitude was early 
introduced in New Jersey in at least three different forms. Which was the 
worst form we shall not determine, but leave it is an open question for each 
one for himself to decide. 

In the first instance the Proprietors sent over their "servants " to occupy and 
improve their lands for them. 

Among the individuals who are most conspicuous for their efforts in this direc- 
tion, were Lord Neil Campbell, William Dockwra, Thomas Pierson, the Scotch 
Proprietors ; Captain Andrew Hamilton, Governor Gawen Lawrie, Robert Fulton 
and David Mudie. These servants, perhaps, did not absolutely forfeit their personal 
liberty by their engagements with their masters, but still they were in all essential 
particulars " bond men," held in servitude and controlled entirely, personally and 
socially, by those who had brought them into the province for their own profit. 
They were slaves in everything but name ; and their relation to their superiors was 
unquestionably a form of what we may call " white slavery " and continued for life ; 
and in some instances included their children also. But as it had no legal sanction 
in the laws of the province, it ceased of itself from causes which the authors of it 
could not control. 

At a later period, many persons from the " Palatinate " came to New Jersey as 
well as New York, under what has been called the "apprentice system." The cap- 
tains of the vessels who brought over the emigrant did so under a bond, signed by 
the emigrants, which gave the captain the liberty to sell his time on his arrival in 
America for his passage monej-. This included fewer or more years, as the pur- 
chaser might be willing to accept ; and in this he was guided by the age, the health 
and the working power of the apprentice or emigrant. Many of these apprentices 
became prosperous citizens after serving out their time. Some of them even died 
wealthy. But while they were bound, their condition did not differ essentially from 
that of a slave. Nor were they treated better, except in one particular, having rela- 
tion to their color. They were not negroes, and were not kept with them in social 
equality. 

The third form was negro slavery. The earliest instance which we have seen of 
negroes being held in bondage in New Jersey, is that of Colonel Richard Morris, of 
Shrewsbury, who is noticed as having sixty or seventy slaves about his " iron mill 
and plantation " as early as 1680. Whether Codrington, or Royce, or Palmer or 
White, had any negro slaves on their plantations in Somerset county, we have not 
ascertained. We do not think the fact has been noted anywhere, and yet we hardlj' 
think there can be any doubt of it. At all events, the first inhabitants on the Rari- 
tan all had slaves as early as 1685 or 1690. The slave trade was active in the harbor 
of New York, and cargoes direct from the African coast were sold to the planters in 
the various parts of the State. As a general thing these slaves were humanel}' 
treated, well clothed, and not over worked. In the various homesteads, children 



were boru and reared until, sometimes, the negroes in them were more numerous 
than the whites. There was a difference in social position, and in the duties and 
employments assigned to them respectively, but this was nearly all the distinction. 
Authority was exercised by the one and obedience exacted from the other. The two 
races were kept distinct when eating and sleeping, as well as in the employments and 
occupations of daily life. They were not clothed alike. They did not frequent the 
same places of amusement or pleasure migbt incline. But notwithstanding all these 
things, it would not be true to state that both were not comfortable in every essen- 
tial particular necessary to the well being of the individual man ; and as the effect 
of all this there was a great deal of harmony of action between them ; even in the 
most instances, a mutual and zealous co-operation in business and in social neces- 
sities in all important matters of life, and also so much amity and attachment in all 
actions, that serious collisions seldom occurred. The slaves, in most instances, 
would have defended their masters and their master's household with their lives. 
Indeed, it is remarkable in how few instances theft, or arson, or murder, occurred, 
as the effect of having such persous in so many families. Pilfering in various forms 
there alwajs was, but it was of a petty character, and perpetrated generally for the 
purpose of obtaining some luxuries or personal indulgences, not allowed them, 
because not beneficial or necessary, to their comfort. 

We have notice of a case of arson succeeded by a public execution, and also one 
of the murder of one slave by another. We have obtained the relation of another of 
a white man by his slave, as the consequence of which the slave was burned at Mill- 
stone, then the county seat, in the presence of a large concourse of negroes, who 
were expressly brought there to witness it. 

We give the entire narrative as it was written out for us. The same thing also 
occurred in other places about the same time. Jacob Van Nest was murdered in 
what is now Branchburg township, by his black man, somewhere about the year 
1753- The occasion is said to have been, taking a leaf of tobacco out of the negroe's 
box by his master as he was going up the kitchen stairs. Mr. Van Nest had been 
out on horseback and returned home at night. The negro stood inside of the stable 
door, and struck him with an ax as he came to put his horse in his place. He then 
turned the horse loose with the saddle under him, but buried the body under some 
leaves amd brush near the house. He was an athletic fellow, and when taken had 
on his person his master's pocket knife. He was purposely sent out of doors to 
bring in a back log, and then taken by the oflBcers when he could not defend him- 
self. What form of trial was instituted is not related, but when condemned he was 
publicly burnt at the stake as a punishment for his crime. It is naticed that the 
effect upon the slaves present was so great that they did not eat any meat for a long 
time afterwards. 

The property where this murder occurred, is now in possession of Gilbert Ker- 
show, son-in law of Andrew Hageman, who purchased the farm from Peter D. Vroom, 
a son of Hendrick D. Vroom. The barn in which the murder was committed was 
removed to make room for a better some thirty years since. Hendrick D. Vroom, 
who possessed it, married Jemima, the only daughter of Jacob Van Nest, and came 
into its possession in right of his wife. Jacob Van Nest was a son of Peter, the sou 
of that Peter who originally purchased the 600 acre tract of land from the Proprietors 
first north of the junction of the Branches, and was in his day the most popular man 
in Somerset county, if we may judge so from his representing the county almost con- 
stantly in the legislative council, and in other public trusts during his life time. 

The peaceful condition of the negroes, notwithstanding these exceptional execu- 



58 

tions, is universally attested ; and yet there had been a sort of rebellion among them 
along the Raritan in 1734, in consequence of which one at least, if not more, was 
hung. It is called a 'rising," and the design was to obtain their freedom, kept 
from them, as they believed, contrary to the express directions of the king ; and the 
plan was to murder all "the whites," and then join the Indians in the interest 
of the French, but it failed to do any real harm or have any results. That slaves were 
numerous in Somerset is not to be questioned ; nor is it doubtful that as a general 
thing they were humanely treated ; and yet circumstances also show that crimes 
were committed, and their punishment was meeted out to them swiftly and not 
always considerately. Burning was not an exceptional mode. At Perth Amboy 
two were burnt within two weeks of the time after which the crime — the murder of 
their mistress — was perpetrated ; and, as in the case of Millstone, the negroes were 
summoned from their homes to witness it, under the belief, not yet exploded, that 
the effect of it would be salutary. 

There seems to be, and there no doubt was, a connection between these transac- 
tions, and the famous " negro plot " in New York, in 1741. The public mind had 
been greatly excited with fear by the developments then made, and the instinct of 
self-preservation is not apt to be either tolerant or considerate. They believed in 
the wholesomeness of terror as a conservator of the peace of society, and employed 
it freely. 

Another "rising " among the negroes was feared in 1772, but precautionary 
measures were adopted and the excitement passed off. In connection with this dis- 
turbance an " abolitionist ' appeared, and in the public prints and otherwise, urged 
the propriety of the passage of a law by the Parliament in London, obliging everj^ 
master to free his slave and secure his being sent back to his native place. It made 
the slaves for a time dissatisfied and dangerous, but it effected no good — rather the 
contrary. 

An act had been passed as early as 17 13 levying a duty on the importation of 
negroes, but it seems not to have been enforced. The tariff was forty shillings in 
East New Jersey, and six pounds in West New Jersey. This inequality in levying 
the tax was obviated by another act in 1749, and again by another act in 1767, which 
was in force at the time of the revolution. 

When Sunday schools were introduced the negroes were largely benefitted by 
them and received the religious instruction given in them extensively. In Chris- 
tian families, also, they were brought under Christian influences and many of them 
became members of the different Christian churches. When properly cared for at 
home, they maintained generally a creditable course of conduct ; but like the mis- 
sionary converts in heathen lands, for the most part in time of temptation they were 
but weak Christians, and liable to fall under the passion engendered by strong drink ; 
and yet, there is no doubt, many of them were truly pious, and sought to be better 
than they were. All the churches in the county had among them their members ; 
but in the old church of Raritan, after the great revival, there was the largest num- 
ber. At one communion season, sixty-eight colored persons came down from the 
galleries and sat down at the table, spread then, according to olden customs, in the 
middle aisle of the church. Most of these are now no more, but during their life 
they maintained a consistent demeanor and died in the hope of a better condition. 

We make these references because we think them of practical importance in the 
future. Slavery is happily abolished in our beloved State ; but the questions, hav- 
ing reference to the future of the descendants of slaves, are yet living questions ; 
and their solution will press upon the future, more than they do upon the present. 



59 

To ignore them is no more proper for us, than it is for the welfare of the unfortunate 
creatures, to whom they relate. God has been in this part of history, as in all others, 
and His designs, when wrought out, will be worthy of His wisdom and purity. We 
rest our anxieties all upon this foundation. 

It ought to be noted also as au evidence in favor of the gentleness and amenity 
of domestic slavery in our couutry, that when the slaves were invited by the British 
in their revolution, to abandon their homes and seek refuge in the armies, so few of 
them took advantage of the opportunity to abscond. If there had not been attach- 
ment on their part, to those whom they served, it would not have been so. There 
were, in fact, slaves enough in the country to have decided the contest against us, if 
the}' had generally entered the army of our enemies. The Indians were deceived into 
activity, and fought bravely for their natural enemies, but the slaves remained in 
quietness ; aiding only as their attachments influenced them to do, and for the most 
part favored those who had been called their tyrants and oppressors. Their course 
indicated clearly what they thought, and what in fact was the truth. They would 
not trust strangers against their national protectors and friends and who will say it 
was not the course of prudence and wisdom ? 

The first L/egislative action looking to the abolition of slavery in New Jersey 
occurred on February 24, 1821. It determined that children of all slaves in the 
State born after July 4, 1804, should be free — the males at 25 years and the females at 
21 years. Under this wise and safe provision the evil ceased of itself, so imper- 
ceptibly and gradually, that no interest or feeling was in any way disturbed by it. 
The sentiment of Somerset county was largely in favor of this law, and rejoiced in 
the effects of it upon an unfortunate race of human beings, whose happiness has 
been too much the sport of unprincipled politicians. They had treated them 
humanely while in bondage and they rejoiced to see them making successfully the 
attempt to provide for their own well being. 

It will always be accounted as a special honor that Dr. Finley, a Somerset man, 
was the first to move in the formation of the American Colonization Society, an 
institution which has already done so much for the colored people and for Africa, 
but whose work is just beginning to show its real grandeur, and to demonstrate its 
immense importance in the developments of the plans of mercy to this our world. 
It will Christianize Africa and save at least a remnant of her children given over to 
bondage from final extermination. 



No. XVIII.-THE REVOLUTION. 



THE causes which operated in effecting the separation of the American colonies 
from Great Britain, lay as far back as 1763, when Parliament first proposed to 
draw from them a ' revenue" in support of the home government. The pop- 
ular mind was excited and there sprang up at once an almost unanimous determin- 
ation to make resistance to this unjust demand, in all the colonies. They consid- 
ered it an unjustifiable, oppressive and unprovoked violation of their "chartered rights 
and privileges." In the case of New Jersey, there was on record a justifiable reason 
for such resistance. In the "concessions and agreements," an article existed pro- 
viding that "the Governor and Council are not to impose or suffer to be imposed 
any tax, custom or subsidy, tollage, assessments, or any other duty whatsoever, 
upon any color or pretence how specious soever, upon the said province or inhabi- 
tants thereof, without their consent first had." They considered this agreement be- 
tween themselves and the Proprietors under whose auspices they and their fathers 
had settled in the province so valuable and so important that nothing ought to induce 
them to consent to its infraction. No taxation without representation and consent, 
became, therefore, a war cry, in this and in all the other Colonies also. Hence New 
Jersey sympathized entirely in the opposition raised to Mr. Grenville's tax bill ; and 
when the stamp act bill was passed, March 22, 1765, and the duty on tea was at- 
tempted to be levied, she stood firmly to her rights. 

When on motion of the Legislatures of Massachusetts and Rhode Island a Con- 
gress was called to meet in New York, on the first Tuesday in October, 1765, she sent 
Robert Ogden, Hendrick Fisher and Joseph Borden to represent her, and continued 
her representatives in the subsequent Congresses, until the Declaration of Indepen- 
dence was issued on the Fourth of July, 1776. In these sessions, besides Hendrick 
Fisher, we find the names of William Patterson anfl Frederick Frelinghuysen as 
representatives from Somerset county, at different times. When the "Provincial 
Congress," as it was called, met at Burlington, June 10, 1776, she sent Dr. Harden- 
burgh to assist in framing a constitution for the State ; and when Governor Frank- 
lin was superseded, arrested and confined, and William Livingston appointed Gov- 
ernor on the thirty-first of August, 1776, she was present by her representatives to 
assent to and assist in forwarding the good cause. 

She had already called out her militia when the battle of Lexington was fought, 
April 19, 1775, and when that of Bunker Hill, on the 17th of the succeeding June, 
she was active in arming for the fight. But unfortunately, our State and County 
continued exempt from the ravages of armies, as well our own as those of our 
enemies, until the next year. Clinton and Cornwallis, driveu out of Boston, came 
with their re-inforced troops, and landed 35,000 men on Long Island early in June, 
1776 ; and on the 20th of August, the battle of Long Island was fought. Then came 
the abandonment of the city of New York, September 15, the taking of Fort Wash- 
ington and Fort Lee, November 10, and the transfer of the British army into the 
State of New Jersey. Our State and County were now at first called upon to realize 



61 

the bitterness of the contest in which they had engaged, and henceforth she was, in 
a measure, the battle ground of the war. 

At this point, properly, the military operations of the Revolution, so far as 
Somerset is concerned, commenced, and we shall endeavor to give them, as far as it 
is possible, separate from the other actions in the great drama, hoping in this way 
to enable the reader to form a distinct idea of her sufferings in the cause of liberty. 
After the i6th of November, 1776, Washington retreated over the Hackensack and 
Passaic rivers ; and as his troops were being daily diminished by desertion, con- 
tinued until he had crossed the Delaware. Washington, penetrating the design of 
the enemy, to pass into New Jersey and march to the capture of Philadelphia, had 
already crossed the Hudson with the main body of the American army after secur- 
ing some positions on the east bank, between Kiugsbridge and the Highlands. He 
encamped at Hackensack, in the rear of Fort Lee, where General Lee was in com- 
mand. Lord Cornwallis crossed the Hudson at Dobbs Ferrj', with 6,000 men, on the 
i8th, and landing at Closter, a mile and a half from English Neighborhood, pro- 
ceeded to attack Fort Lee. The garrison made a hasty retreat, and joined the main 
army at Hackensack, five miles distant. All the baggage and military stores at Fort 
Lte fell into the hands of the enemy. It was an easy conquest for Cornwallis, and 
had he followed up this successful beginning with energy, there is every possibility 
that he would have captured Washington and his whole army. But at once Wash, 
ington commenced a retreat towards the Delaware, when Cornwallis approached, 
hoping to be suflScieutly enforced by the New Jersey and Pennsylvania militia to 
enable him to make a successful stand against the invaders at some intermediate 
point. 

But the late reverses had sorely disappointed the militia as well as the people, 
and Washington found his army diminishing at every step, rather than augument- 
ing. By the last of November scarcely 3,000 troops remained under his command. 
For three weeks he fled before Cornwallis across the level districts of New Jersey. 
Newark, New Brunswick, Princeton and Trenton were successfully evacuated by the 
Americans and occupied by the enemy, often the music of the pursued and the pur- 
suers would be heard by each other. Having arrived at Trenton on the 8th of 
December, Washington and his army crossed the Delaware in boats, which had been 
pressed into this service by proclamation from all parts of the river. The last one 
had reached the Pennsylvania shore just as one division of Cornwallis's army, with 
all the pomp of victors, marched into Trenton. This was about 12 o'clock at night. 
The main body of the British troops halted about six miles from Trenton. The long 
agony was at last over, and the cause of liberty, though surrounded with gloom and 
discouragement, was not yet quite lost. Washington had hoped to make a stand at 
New Brunswick, but abandoned the idea as the enemy approached. The service of 
the New Jersey and Maryland brigades expired on the day he arrived there, and no 
persuasion could induce them to remain, and without them a stand was hopeless. 
When Washington commenced this retreat. General Charles Lee had been left at 
White Plains, east of the Hudson, with a corps of nearly 3,000 men. When at Hack- 
ensack, Washington wrote to him requesting him to hasten to New Jersey, to rein- 
force him ; but Lee did not see fit to regard this reasonable request. The Com- 
mander in Chief made the order per emptory and positive ; but he still lingered and 
delayed, and so tardy were his movements that after three weeks he had only 
reached Morristown. It seems he coveted independence of command, and expected, 
by some fortunate juncture of circumstancss, to perform a striking and splendid feat 



62 

of arms, and eclipse his commander in the eyes of the people. How miserably he 
failed we have now to relate. 

On the 13th of December the main body of the troops were at Vealtown (now 
Bernardsville), but he himself lodged at Mrs. White's tavern at Basking Ridge, two 
miles distant, having with him only a guard of a few men for his protection. We 
quote from Wilkinson's memoirs : 

" General L,ee wasted the morning in altercations, with certain militia corps 
who were of his command, particularly the Connecticut light horse — one wanted for- 
age, one his horse shod, one his pay and a fourth his provisions, to w'nich the Gen- 
eral replied, 'Your wants are numerous, but you have not mentioned the last ; you 
want to go home and shall be indulged for you are no good here.' Several of them 
appeared in large full bottomed perukes and were treated very irreverently. 

" The call of the Adjutant General for orders also occupied some of his time 
and we did not set down to breakfast before 10 o'clock. General Lee was engaged 
in answering General Gates' letter, and I had risen from the table and was looking 
out of an end window, down a lane, about one hundred yards in length, which led 
to the house from the main road, when I discovered a party of British troops turn 
the corner of the avenue in full charge. Startled at this unexpected appearance I 
exclaimed : ' Here, sir, are the British cavalry.' ' Where ?' asked the General, who 
had signed the letter in an instant. 'Around the house,' for they had opened files 
and encompassed the building. General Lee appeared alarmed and yet collected, 
and his second observation marked his self possession. ' Where is the guard ; d — m 
the guard ; why don't they fire ?' and after a momentary pause he turned to me and 
said : ' Do, sir, see what has become of ihe guard." The woman of the house at 
this moment entered the room and proposed to him to conceal himself in a bed ; 
which he rejected with evident disgust. I caught up the pistol which lay on the 
table ; thrust the letter he had been writing in my pocket, and passed into a room 
at the opposite end of the house, where I had seen the guard in the morning. Here 
I discovered their arms, but the men were absent. I stepped out of the door and 
saw the dragoons chasing them in different directions, and receiving a very uncivil 
salutation, I returned into the house. 

" Too inexperienced immediately to penetrate the motives of this enterprise, I 
considered the recontre accidental, and from the terrific tales spread over the coun- 
try of the violence and barbarity of the enemy, I believed it to be a wanton murdering 
party, and determined not to die without company. I accordingly sought a position 
where I could not be approached by more than one person at a time, and with a pis- 
tol in each hand awaited the expected search, resolved to shoot the first and second 
person who might appear, and then appeal to the sword. I did not long remain in this 
unpleasant situation, but was apprised of the object of the incursion by the very 
audible declaration, ' If the General does not surrender in five minutes, I will set 
fire to the house,' which after a short pause was repeated with a solemn oath ; and 
within two minutes I heard it proclaimed, 'here is the General, he has surrendered.' 
A general shout ensued, the trumpet sounded the re assembling of the troops, and 
the unfortunate Lee, mounted on my horse which stood ready at the door, was hur- 
ried off in triumph, bare headed, in his slippers and blanket coal, his collar open, 
and his shirt very much soiled from several days use. 

"The capture of General Lee was felt to be a public calamity ; it cast a gloom 
over the country and excited general sorrow. The matter is explained by later intel- 
ligence. It seems that a certain Mr. Muklewraith, an elder in the Presbyterian 



63 

Church of Mendham, had passed the tavern of Mrs. White, and had been told of the 
presence of Lee there, and while travelling on foot on his private business, was over- 
taken by Colonel Harcourt and pressed into service as a guide; but whether Har- 
court was only reconnoitering and accidentally heard of the place where General 
Lee had slept, or had followed him up intending to capture him, is not explained. 
He was taken by way of Bound Brook to New Brunswick and delivered as a prisoner 
to the British commander. At first he was claimed to be a deserter and treated 
accordingly, but finally exchanged in May for General Prescott and returned to the 
army. 

" Colonel Harcourt had no sooner retreated with his prize, than General Wil- 
kinson hastened to the stable and mounting the first horse at hand, hastened to join 
the main body of the army, which he found on the march towards Pluckamin. The 
command now devolved upon General Sullivan, and continuing on his march by 
way of Lamington, Potterstown and Clinton, he finally crossed the Delaware at 
Phillipsburg, and joined Washington in Pennsylvania." 

These, then, are the military movements in Somerset county in 1776, the year 
when independence was declared. Washington passed our county on its south- 
eastern and southern border, along the public road leading by Six-Mile Run and 
Kingston to Princeton and Trenton ; and Lee and Sullivan led another division from 
Totowa, now Paterson, by the valley of the Passaic to Morristown, Bernardsville, 
Lamington and Clinton to Phillipsburg, and the two united on the west side of the 
Delaware about December 20, 1776. 

New Jersey was thus in December, [776, given up almost eutirelylinto the hands 
of the enemy ; and all tradition unites in averring that their hands were not 
restrained. Private property was but little respected ; no allowance made in favor 
of non-combattants ; and virtue and purity were often brutally outraged. 

Cornwallis lingered in New Brunswick during the whole of the succeeding 
winter, collecting a large depot of stores and forage from the surrounding country 
for the subsistence of his army. He at first purposed to continue his march to Phil- 
adelphia, but finding that Washington had secured all the boats on the river, decided 
to delay it until the ice should form and enable him to pass his troops over in that 
way ; but before this came he had other work on his hands. 

While at Brunswick he issued a proclamation inviting all the inhabitants of 
the State to come in and take out protections, promising exemption for the past and 
safety in the future ; and in the discouraging aspect of the public affairs, the timor- 
ous and the doubtful almost universally took advantage of it. 

The tendency was to weaken and discourage the cause of patriotism greatly. 
Even some men who had been active until this time, wavered and sought safety in a 
protection. It was the darkest hour of the struggle, but fortunately it did not last 
long. 

We close this first year of independence then with the British troops occupying 
New Brunswick, and extending their outposts to the Delaware at Trenton, while 
Washington, with his little army almost completely demoralized is just saved by a 
timely retreat to the west side of the river. New Jersey is in the possession of its 
enemies, except the counties of Sussex, Morris and Hunterdon, and the spirit of the 
people is being debauched by deceitful offers of protection and peace. The State 
government had hardly been organized before it was dispersed. War, therefore, not 
only, but anarchy, threatened the State. No doubt many wept in secret, and others 
prayed almost in despondency and total despair. But the agony, though intense, 
was brief. We shall see iu our next how brief it really was. 



No. XIX.— REVOLUTION, 1777. 



THE year in which the Declaration of Independence was made thus seemed about 
to close in almost hopeless despondency. Washington had only 2,200 men 
under his command when he reached the western side of the Delaware on the 
eighth of December, and even part of these waited only to be dismissed, as their 
term of service had already expired. Indeed, there were scarcely 1,000 men upon 
whom he could depend, until he was joined by Sullivan from Phillipsburg. The 
whole State of New Jersey was at the mercy of the British. Sir William Howe took 
this opportunity to issue a Proclamation offering a full and free pardon to all who 
would lay down their arms, with full and ample protection, also to those who after 
doing so consented to take the oath of allegiance to the British crown. The effect 
of this was to bring great numbers of the timorous and wavering to desert the cause 
of Independence. The finances of Congress at the same time were in disarrangement; 
the troops in the field were ill provided for, ill fed, and greatly demoralized as the 
effect of all this. It was, in fact, the darkest hour of the conflict. 

But it did not last long. From the 8th to the evening of the 24th of December 
nothing had been done, but early on the morning of the 25th, Christmas day, in the 
midst of a cold sleet, the inhabitants of Trenton were startled by the noise of a sharp 
conflict in the streets of the town. The result of which was the capture of the en- 
tire corps of Hessians stationed there. 

Washington himself was there, present in person, aided by Generals Green, 
Mercer, Sterling, Sullivan and Stevens. 

The conflict was brief but decisive. Colonel Rail was wounded by a shot fired, 
it is said, by Colonel Frederick Frelinghuysen, and surrendered the troops under 
his command, amounting to 1,000 prisoners, with six brass field pieces, 1,000 stand 
of arms and four flags. 

In the evening, Washington, with his men and prisoners, returned again to the 
west side of the Delaware, having lost only four men, two of whom were frozen to 
death. He returned again, however, on the 30th to find all the British from Borden- 
town removed to Princeton, except Cornwallis, who, with a strong force, was wait- 
ing for him on the south side of the Assinpink. Here a conflict occurred on the 2d 
of January, lasting until it became too dark to continue it, neither having obtained 
any decided advantage, and lighting their fires on opposite sides of the narrow little 
river. Cornwallis boasted that he would certainly " catch the fox " in the morning, 
when urged by Sir William Erspine to attack in the evening ; but " the fox " was 
not caught. Leaving his camp fires burning brightly, Washington stole away under 
the cover of the darkness, and appeared early in the morning at Princeton, where 
he defeated the British troops stationed there with great slaughter, and sent one 
regiment flying precipitately back to Trenton, but his victory was saddened by the 
unfortunate death of General Mercer. Pursuing the other defeated regiments as far 
as Kingston, he halted, and after consulting with his ofiBcers, decided to turn aside 
and secure his army by leading them to a place of safety. Breaking down the bridge 



(J5 

at Kingston, he led bis troops on the east side of the Millstone to Rocky Hill, when 
he crossed again to the west side, and following the course of the river crossed the 
Raritan at Van Veghteu's bridge, and rendezvoused the next day at night-fall at 
Pluckamin. The morning of the battle at Princeton was bright and frosty, and the 
air being calm thecanuoaading was heard as far northwest as New Germantown, and 
spread consternation far and wide, and when the camp fires gleamed the next even- 
ing of the 4th of January, on the side of the Pluckamin mountain, the alarm was 
most intense. Many a horseman during the night dashed onward to that point to 
ascertain what it portended, and when the news was brought back that it was Wash- 
ington, the joy was almost rapturous everywhere. 

This hurried march on the 2d of January, 1777, was the second military move- 
ment through Somerset county. It was made amid the most intense sufferings of 
the poor soldiers. All of them had been without sleep during the previous night ; 
the weather was very cold, they had not had time to supply themselves with even 
one regular meal, and the march from Kingston, after the battle, was a long and a 
fatiguing one. Many of them became exhausted and laid down to sleep by the way- 
side. Some of the inhabitants along the Millstone supplied them as they passed 
along with such food as they had prepared, but the exhaustion of the whole was 
almost complete, when they rested at last at Pluckamin on the evening of the 4th. 

Beside the death of General Mercer the battle of Princeton is memorable on 
account of another victim. Captain William Leslie, son of the Earl of Levin of 
Scotland, was wounded in the first on-set, carried to Pluckamin, and died on the 
porch of the small Inn, almost immediately on reaching there. Mr. G. W. P. 
Custis, in his recollections of the life of Washington, gives the following account of 
this incident of the battle : " It was while the Commander in Chief reined up his 
horse, upon approaching the spot in a ploughed field, where lay the gallant Colonel 
Harslet mortally wounded, that he perceived some British soldiers supporting a 
wounded officer, and upon inquiring his name and rank, was answered Captain Les- 
lie. Dr. Benjamin Rush, who formed a part of the General's suite, earnestly asked, 
' a son of the Earl of Levin,' to which the soldiers replied in the affirmative. The 
Doctor then addressed the General in Chief, ' I beg your excellency to permit this 
wounded officer to be placed under my care, that I may return, in however small a 
degree, a part of the obligation I owe to his worthy family for the many kindnesses 
received at their hinds while a student at E linburgh.' The request was granted, 
but poor Leslie was soon past all surgery." After receiving all possible kin Iness in 
the march, he died and was interred at Pluckamin, and after the war Dr. Rush 
placed a monument over his remains, yet in existence, in the old Lutheran ceme- 
tery, just northwest of the Presbyterian church. 

The army only remained at Pluckamin for a few days, and then went into win- 
ter quarters near Marristown, sheltering themselves in huts on the south side of 
Kimball's mountain. The winter passed away in quietness, not, however, without 
suffering from sickness and want of sufficient provisions. Often there was only three 
days rations in the camp. Somerset county lay at the mercy of the enemy, whose 
foraging parties went out from New Brunswick, where Howe had quartered his 
troops, across the Millstone as far as Neshanic. and the South Branch, gathering 
everything they could lay their hands on. and maltreating the inhabitants most 
cruelly, whenever any resistance was offered. It seemed as if the idea that they were 
or might be rebels, formed a sufficient excuse in the minds of the soldiers for any 
outrage that their passions prompted them to commit. They did not, however, 
always escape with impunity. 



66 

On the 20th of January, sixteen days after Washington had passed Weston with 
his victorious army, a large party of the British, foraging as usual, was met there, 
routed, and 48 baggage wagons, 104 horses, 118 cattle, 70 sheep and twelve prison- 
ers were captured. The American party was under General Dickenson, and included 
two companies from the Valley of Wyoming. We fiod the following account of this 
little fight given in the " Field Book of the Revolution." "A line of forts had been 
established along the Millstone river, in the direction of Princeton. One of these, 
at Somerset Court House, (the village of Millstone), was occupied by General Dick- 
enson with two companies of the regular army, and about 300 militia. A mill on 
the opposite part of the stream contained considerable flour. Cornwallis, then lying 
at New Brunswick, dispatched a foraging party to capture it. The party consisted of 
about 400 men, with more than 40 wagons. The British arrived at the mill at Wes- 
ton, early in the morning, and having loaded their wagons with flour, were about to 
return, when General Dickenson, leading a portion of his force through the river, 
middle deep, and filled with ice, attacked them with so much spirit, that they fled 
m haste leaving the whole of their plunder with their wagons behind them." Dick- 
enson lost five men in this skirmage, and the enemy about thirty, Washington 
warmly commended General Dickenson for his enterprise and gallantry evinced in 
this little skirmish. 

But the discomfiture in one of their ravages did not prevent them from repeat- 
ing them almost daily in one direction or another around the whole country. The 
whole region of the Raritan and Millstone was stripped. The farmers threshed their 
wheat and then hid it under the straw in the barn, in order to preserve it from the 
greedy enemy. In many instances not enough was saved to serve for seed in the 
autumu. Cellars, houses, pig pens and hen roosts, were all carefully explored, and 
everything desirable carried oflf to feed the insatiate comorants. 

Let us now leave Washington's soldiers in their tents near Morristown, under-, 
going inoculation for the small pox, as " precautionary measure, and consuming 
lots of butternut pills in substitution for better medicines." While the winter 
months thus are passing, let us look toward the future. The prospect for the com- 
ing summer indeed was not bright, but it was not quite so discouraging as the 
autumn had been. Trenton and Princeton coming after Long Island and White 
Plains, and the surren ler of Forts Washington and Lee, had shown that the British 
were not quite invulnerable and omnipotent. 

We shall in this place only allude to some circumstances tending to render 
these transactions intelligible. General Putnam was placed in observation at Prince- 
ton, soon after the defeat of the British. He had only a few hundred troops ; some- 
times not as many as he had miles of frontier to guard. In January Washington 
issued a proclamation from Morristown, directed to those who had taken protection, 
"discharging them from the obligations of their oath to the King, and directing 
them to repair to headquarters, or the nearest general officer, and swear allegiance 
to the United States, as the condition of a full pardon for what they had done in a 
moment of fear and despondency. It had a good effect ; the people soon flocked 
from all quarters to take the oath, and all idea of British protection was abandoned. 

Howe, at New Brunswick, as the spring opened, was the principal object of 
solicitude to Washington. It was evident he must attempt one of two things ; 
either to move up the Hudson, and co operate with Burgoj'ue approaching Albany 
from Ticonderoga, or attempt to reach Philadelphia by marching across the State of 
New Jersey. He determined so to place himself and his troops, as to keep them 
from attack, and at the same time have them ready to attack if any movement was 



«7 

made. Sending the northern troops to the Highlands, he stationed his own on the 
heights north of Middlebrook, and repaired to camp in person on the 28th of May. 
He had only 8,398 men in all, inclusive of cavalry and artillery, and of these more 
than 2,000 were sick, so that the effective rank and file were only 5,738. Howe and 
Cornwallis had been employed during the winter in enlisting every loyalist possible, 
offering large and special rewards to deserters, and strengthened in this way, far 
outnumbered the little army of Washington. What he had not in numbers, he 
endeavored, however, to provide for by the advantage of his position and his superior 
vigilance. The drama was one of the most interesting in the whole war. Washing- 
ton's skill as a tactician was nowhere and on no occasion more triumphantly 
displayed, than on the plains south of our mountain and east of Bound Brook, in 
June 1777. It is enough to say that he foiled his enemy completely, and finally 
forced him from the State. 



No. XX. -REVOLUTION, 1777. 



We left Washington in the month of May, 1777, encamped behind the moun. 
tain north of Middlebrook. We are now to follow his movements in one of the most 
important and pressing exigencies of the war. He had seen early in the winter that 
the campaign of this year must be an important one — perhaps ultimately deciding 
the contest, and that, so far as his antagonist Sir William Howe was concerned, it 
would embrace three points. One, an attempt from Canada by Burgoyne, to form a 
junction with the British at New York, by way of Albany and the Hudson, and so 
by cutting off and isolating the Eastern States of New England, divide and weaken 
the colonies. Another, to maintain British ascendency in New York, and by pre- 
venting commerce weaken and discourage the people. Lastly, to obtain possession 
of the city of Philadelphia, preparatory to the efforts to conquer the Soathern States. 
These three objects attained, he felt that the cause of independence would be lost, 
or at best only a question of time. The British might rest in their conquests, and 
leave the Americans to waste their strength in vain, and it would not take long to 
do it. It was, therefore, his business to frustrate all these designs. With the view 
of preventing the junction between Burgoyne and the British forces in New York, he 
threw, early in the spring, additional forces into Ticonderoga, collected men and 
stores at Albany, and strengthened the defences at West Point and Peekskill, and 
planted himself behind the mountain at Middlebrook, within striking distance of 
New Brunswick, and near enough to New York to act in any emergency that might 
arise there in the progress of the pending operations. 

We may sufl5ciently indicate the precise place of the encampment, by saying 
that it was on the right of the road leading through the mountain gorge in which 
Chimney Rock is situated, just where it rises up from the bed of the little stream, 
and attains the level of Washington Valley. A strong earthwork was thrown up 
about a quarter of a mile to the northwest, almost in the centre of the Valley, as a 
protection to any movement approaching from Pluckamin, and the whole narrow 
defile leading through the narrow valley as strongly guarded, while the brow over- 
looking the plain bristled with cannon. Just at the edge of the wood, east of 
Chimney Rock, huts were erected as quarters for the ofiScers, and everything done 
which either safety or comfort demanded in the emergency. At Bound Brook a 
strong redout was constructed, commanding a bridge over the miry little stream, 
just north of the present railroad crossing, looking to any attack that might be 
made from the way of New Brunswick. 

Having taken in this way all precautions against surprise, he felt strong to 
abide the issue of events. The result justified his sagacity as a military tactician. 

In the strong position described, guarded in front by the abrupt mountain wall, 
and the wood crowning it, and almost equi-distaut from New York and Philadel- 
phia, he was equally prepared for any movement made in either direction. While 
from the elevation of the mountain itself, the whole plain upon which the enemy 
had to traverse was visible to his watching eye. 



69 

It would be difficult for Sir William Howe to change his position in any way or 
attempt to come out of New Brunswick without finding some one on his heels, who 
would not allow him a single mistake without taking advantage of it. 

There was, however, no equality in the relative strength of the two armies when 
the contest commenced. The British forces were well clothed and provisioned, and 
flushed with their success in the preceeding campaign. The army of Washington 
was a feeble band — the whole effective rank and file, when at Middlebrook, amount- 
ing only to 5,738 men, more than half of which had never seen any service, and 
besides, there were elements of weakness in the corps itself. A large portion of it 
was composed of foreigners, many of them servants, upon whose attachment to free- 
dom it was not safe to depend. This circumstance was known to Sir William 
Howe, and he endeavored to profit by it, offering pardon and protection to all deser- 
ters, and bounties to any slaves which might bring in their arms and accoutrements. 
It was a dastardly stroke of policy, and its meanness seems to have been its weak- 
ness. Few took advantage of the offer, and the slaves remained content with their 
masters. As soon as Washington had taken his position at Middlebrook, General Ben 
edict Arnold was directed to form an army of militia on the east side of the Delaware, 
and be prepared to dispute the passage of Howe, should he escape from Washington 
and attempt to cross on his way to Philadelphia. And to give strength to his corps, 
a few companies of regular troops were detailed to assist him in making his disposi- 
tions effective. 

At the same time General Sullivan, who had remained in the vicinity of Prince- 
ton with a part of the regular army, and whose force was increasing daily by 
recruits from the south and the militia of New Jersey, was ordered to hold himself 
in perpetual expectation of an attack, and to be prepared to send his baggage and 
provisions to a place of safety, and to move at a moment's warning ; to preserve a 
communication with the main army at all times open ; by no means to risk a gen- 
eral engagement, but to act as a partisan corps ; and on the first movement of the 
British from their encampment at New Brunswick, after having placed his main 
body in safety, to harrass and annoy them by detaching active parties for that pur- 
pose. The whole militia of the State were also called out and instructed to hang 
upon the main body of the British army, and by ranging the country in small par 
ties, harrass their flanks and rear, cut off their supplies, and injure them as much as 
possible. 

Such was the state of things in Somerset county at the end of May, 1777, and 
now, if we take a map of the State and place it before us, we shall have a chess- 
board upon which to trace the subsequent movements of the opposing forces in that 
grand contest of stratagem and skill, which was about to comnieuce. It is equal in 
interest and in ability to anything in the military textbook. Its results entered 
largely into the ultimate success which crowned American valor, and gave liberly 
to these American States, so proud in their career of glory, so magnificent in their 
future prospect. 

Leaving now Burgoyne to Schuyler and Gates, and Cornwallis looking anxi- 
ously for news from the north at New York, we concentrate our attention upon the 
two armies in Somerset county. 

Washington, looking from the mountain summit in the rear of Bound Brook, 
and Howe at New Brunswick contriving to escape him, or to bring him down from 
his eyrie, to fight him on the plains on more advantageous terms. The city of 
Philadelphia was the stake, and the play for it was magnificent. 

The British General had two ways of attaining his o» ject. One by marching 



70 

through New Jersey and crossing the Delaware by a portable bridge, constructed for 
the purpose during the winter at New Brunswick, and make his way directly to his 
object. The other to embark his army and attempt the city by the way of the Dela- 
ware or Chesapeake Bay. The first was preferable, and was therefore to be attempted 
before the other was resorted to. The demonstration was made on the 14th of June 
General Sir William Howe, leaving 2,000 men at New Brunswick under the com- 
mand of General Matthews, advanced in two columns towards Princeton. The first 
under Lord Cornwallis reached the village of Millstone by break of day ; the other 
under DeHester arrived about the same time at Middlebush, having taken a route 
more to the south than which the former pursued. 

To meet this movement thus begun, Washington brought his army forward and 
posted it to great advantage in order of battle, on the south side of the mountain 
east of the gorge in which Chimney Rock is situated. This position he maintained 
during the whole day, and at night the troops slept upon their arms. In this condi- 
tion things remained from the morning of the 14th to the evening of the iglh. Howe 
threatening and making every effort to induce the Americans to abandon their high 
ground and fight him on the plain, and Washington resolutely disregarding his 
taunts and maintaining his superior position, but perfectly prepared and willing to 
give him battle where he was. 

Nor had he been idle at other points in anticipation of these movements. The 
troops from Peekskill, with the exception of 1,000 effectives left there to guard, had 
been summoned to his aid, and were present and ready to act. A select corps of 
riflemen, under Colonel Morgan, had been organized early in the season, and was 
acting as a partizan corps between the Raritan and Millstone, with instructions to 
watch the left flank of the enemy and fall on at the first favorable moment, but not 
to permit himself to be surrounded, and his retreat to the main body to be cut oflf, 
Morgan's men soon became a perfect scourge to the British regiments. 

Sir William Howe could not throw out a picket guard at any distance from the 
main army, but Morgan would drive it in, and of woods and grain fields the enemy 
soon had a complete horror, and would at any time march a mile round to avoid 
them ; for they were almost sure to receive from each one which they approached a 
salute of Morgan's rifles. Ranging the whole country on the south side of the 
Raritan, from that river to Rocky Hill, he kept the inhabitants during the whole 
time that the British army remained on the east side of the Millstone, almost in a 
state of perfect security, and many a farmer owed to the fear of Morgan's men the 
preservation of his tenements from the flames. 

It has been a common mistake to assert that Morgan during this period was 
encamped on the ridge of land betweu the present residences of Henry Garretson, 
and what was formerly that of C. Brokaw, west of the Weston road. That encamp- 
ment consisted of ist, 2d and 7th regiments of Pennsylvania troops, commanded by 
General Anthony Wayne, and the time of their encampment there, was the winter 
of 1778 and 9. They came upon the ground in November, and remained until May. 
Their huts formed quite a town with its streets and parade ground in beautiful order 
and when the encampment was broken up, they proceeded to the Highlands, imme- 
diately after which Stony Point fell, being stormed and taken by General Anthony 
Wayne. In the mean time General Sullivan had changed his position from Prince- 
ton as soon as Howe moved towards Millstone, and lay on the high grounds of Rocky 
Hill, looking over the plains on which the scene was acting, and the militia of New 
Jersey, acting with an alacrity unexampled at any previous time, took the field in 
great numbers, principally joining General Sullivan, who, again when Howe 



71 

threatened him from Middlebush and the village of Millstone, retired behind the 
Neshanic mountain, in the neighborhood of Clover Hill, and was forming a formid- 
able army there to resist his progress to the Delaware. 

This was the state of things from the 14th to the 19th of June. On thenight of the 
19th, Sir William Howe, finding the American army could not be drawn from its strong 
position and seeing the crowds which flocked to join vSullivaft in his front, determined 
to waste no more time in attempting to reach Philadelphia by land, returned to New 
Brunswick. Here he remained only two days, and on the 23d, proceeded to Amboy, 
when he threw over the Kills the bridge of boats intended to cross the Delaware, 
and commenced passing over his baggage and some of his light troops to Staten 
Island. His whole retreat was precipitous and was marked by the smoking ruins 
of barns and farm bouses ; but it was not peaceable. Morgan's eye was upon him, 
and at sun rise on the morning of the 22d the sharp report of his rifles sounded in 
his ears as he attacked and drove in their picket guard, and when they threw them- 
selves into the redoubts on the hill west of New Brunswick, Wayne was there to 
second Morgan's attack. These were soon abandoned, and the whole army having 
crossed the Raritan, was seen in full flight towards Amboy. Some sharp skirmish- 
ing took place between the rear guard and Morgan's riflemen, but the march was 
conducted in such a guarded manner that nothing eff'ectual could be accomplished. 
Sullivan was ordered to move his division, and co-operate with Green and Maxwell, 
who had been directed to watch the enemies flanks and rear, and molest them in 
every possible way But from the distance at which he was encamped, he was 
unable to come up in time. And the express sent to Maxwell either deserted or 
was taken ; and the rear guard being stronger than was expected, Green with his 
three brigades could make no efi"ectual impression on them. In consequence the 
retreat to Amboy was less disastrous than it might have been, had circumstances 
favored our troops. 

An aged man who was a native of Middlebush, (and as a boy was taken pris- 
oner when the British retreated), related that in returning from the movement 
above described, the troops crossed below Bound Brook, to the north side of the Rar- 
itan, on their way to New Brunswick. It is difficult to see the occasion of such a 
movement, and yet more difficult to discredit the testimony of an eye witness. Per- 
haps it was in the hope of tempting Washington to attack them. 



No. XXI. -REVOLUTION CONTINUED, 1777. 



WHILE the movemeuts indicated were being made, the whole army of Wash- 
ington had remained paraded every day on the heights north of Bound 
Brook, ready to act as circumstances might require. But now, in order to 
cover his light parties which hung on the British rear, he descended from his position 
and advanced to New Market, some six or seven miles eastward, and the division under 
Lord Sterling proceeded still further, to Metuchen meeting house, being directed to 
act with the several parties of Green and Morgan already on the lines and harassing 
the rear of the retreating army. 

As soon as Washington had made this movement, Sir William Howe thought 
the moment had arrived to bring on a general engagement, a thing which he had 
sought and hoped for from the commencement of active operations. With this in 
view, on the night of the 25th, he hastily recalled the troops which had been trans- 
ported to Staten Island, and early next morning made a rapid movement in two 
columns toward Westfield. The right, under command of Lord Cornwallis, took 
the route by Woodbridge to Scotch Plains, and aim?d to seize the strong pass 
through the mountain west of Plainfield, and thus, by gaining the rear of Washing- 
ton, force him from his advantageous position on the high grounds, and oblige him 
to fight on the plains. The left, under the personal direction of Sir William Howe, 
marched by Metuchen meeting house, and intended to attack the Americans at New 
Market, and, ultimatel}', gain also the heights on the left of the camp at Middle- 
brook. If this well concentrated movement had succeeded, Washington would have 
either been obliged to fly towards the Highlands, on the Hudson river, or to fight 
the well appointed army before him with his feeble force, upon such terms and in 
such a position as to afford but slight hopes of success. But a kind Providence 
averted the well aimed blow. 

Howe's own account is in the following words : " The necessary preparations 
being finished for crossing the troops to Staten Island, intelligence was received 
that the enemy had moved down from the mountain and taken the post at Quibble- 
town, (New Market,) intending, as was given out, to attack the rear of the army 
removing from Perth Amboy ; that two corps had advanced to their left — one of 3,000 
men and eight pieces of cannon, under the command of Lord Sterling, Generals 
Maxwell and Conway — the last said to be a captain in the French service. The other 
corps, consisting of about 700 men with only one piece of cannon. In this situation, 
it was thought advisable to make a movement that might lead on to an attack, 
which was done on the 26lh in the morning, in two columns." 

At Woodbridge, the right column of the British fell in with the light parties 
sent out to watch their motion, and thus acquainted Washington with the move- 
ment. He at once penetrated the whole design, ordered his army back with the 
utmost celerity to their original position at Middlebrook, and sent out a party to 
guard the heights which the enemy intended to seize. The left, under Cornwallis, 
encountered Lord Sterling, and after a severe skirmish, drove him from his position 



73 

and pursued him over the hills as far as Westfield, where the}- halted. Rut the pass 
in the mountaiu west of Plainfield beinf? guarded, and Washington, like an eagle, 
perched again upon his eyrie, and Sterling beyond the reach of Cornwallis, the 
British commander seeing that the object in view of which his whole man<LUver had 
been made, was beyond his reach, turned his face again towards the seaboard, and 
on the 30th of June crossed over to Staten Island with his whole army. His course 
was a clear acknowledgment that he was beaten, and that, too, by a force far inferior 
to his own. Both his designs were defeated. He had neither gained an open road 
to Philadelphia, nor brought on a general engagement, and after manruuvering a 
month and more, was obliged to change the whole object of the compaign, or seek 
to gain its end by a circuitous route, in which there was both danger and uncer- 
tainty. 

As the result of his contest with Sterling's command, the British General claims 
to have captured three brass cannon and three captains ; and computes the Ameri. 
can loss at sixty men killed and more than 200 wounded, while he avers that Corn- 
wallis had only five killed and thirty wounded, and ends by excusing the want of 
success from the day proving so intensely hot that the soldiers could with difficulty 
continue their march. In fact, there was always something the matter with the 
British commander. His most successful feat seems to have been that moonlight 
race from the battle of Monmouth in the next summer. It was so swift and success- 
ful that when the morning dawned, Washington despaired beirg able to come up 
with him, and let him go until another time. 

So now, from Westfield and Scotch Plains, he glories in having made a safe 
retreat again to his ships at Perth Amboy. Even in this he was not left unmolested. 
Scott and Conway were despatched to watch his motions, and annoy him in every 
way, and the rear guard of the British army was not yet out of Perth Amboy before 
the former marched into it and took possession. But the guarded and soldier like 
manner in which the whole retreat was managed, prevented any successful attack 
and so the prize fled from our State in safety. 

Such were some of the busy scenes enacted in the counties of Somerset and 
Middlesex, in the spring and early summer of 1777. Armies were marching and 
countermarching daily. The tread of the war horse echoed through their peaceful 
solitudes, and the glitter of steel flashed in the sunlight, while the vast interests 
dependent upon every movement, filled the minds, not only of the actors, but also 
of all inhabitants, with the most intense interest. 

On the apex of the round top, on the left of the gorge, in which Chimney Rork 
stands, there are yet to be seen some rude remains of a hut which Washington some 
times frequented during these anxious months of 1777. On the east side of the 
gorge, also, fronting the plain north of INIiddlebrook, there is a rock which has bet n 
named "Washington Rock," because there he often stood to gaze anxiously upon 
the scene it overlooks. 

On the mountain, west of Plainfield, there is also a large rock which has 
received the same appellation, from the circumstance that Washington is said to 
have resorted to it for the purpose of spying the movements of the British army. 
From the 25th to the 30th of June, while Sir William Howe and Cornwallis were 
moving in the plain between the Raritan and Perth Amboy, no more favorable posi 
tion from which to see every motion could be desired, and it is not improbabk- that 
there the noble form of the American Fabius was often seen from morning until 
evening, during all these anxious days. Perhaps we owe to these spots more than 



has yet been imagined. A less perfect knowledge on the part of Washington of 
every movement of his enemies might have involved him in a false position. Had 
he not been in a situation, when on his rock elevation, to see at once the aim of Sir 
William Howe in that well concerted movement from Perth Amboy, his regiments 
might have been captured after he had left his strong camp at Bound Brook and 
advanced upon the plain, and then our soil, too, would have been saturated with 
human gore and our vicinity celebrated as another of the battle fields of liberty. 
But as it was, life was spared, the designs of our enemies frustrated, and the triumph 
of the principles of human liberty secured. Let the memory of all such places live, 
and let pilgrims visit them as consecrated spots as long as the glory of the great 
deeds and the enduring fame of the mighty man with whom they are associated 
shall continue. 

The British remained on Staten Island until the middle of July, and then 
embarked and sailed for the Chesapeake. Washington, after a few days, hearing of 
Burgoyne's approach to Ticonderoga, moved his army to Morristown, and advanced 
Sullivan as far as Pompton Plains and then again to Peekskill, while he himself 
took position at Pompton. But as soon as Howe had passed out of Sandy Hook, 
knowing well that his aim was to enter the city of Philadelphia, he returned through 
the county of Somerset, and crossed the I^relaware at New Hope, hastening to the scene 
of action. The result was the battle of Brandy wine on the nth of September, Ger. 
mantown, October 4, and finally the occupation of the city of Philadelphia by the 
British forces. 

The route of this march across the State is nowhere stated so far as our knowl- 
edge extends. It was probably by the way of Newaik and New Brunswick, by the 
troops from Peekskill ; and by Morristown and Millstone, by those from Pompton. 
The State was now cleared of all military companies and warlike action, and 
remained so until the evacuation of Philadelphia, June i8th, 1778. It was almost a 
year of sweet rest for its wasted inhabitants. When the British entered it again 
there was a very different state of feeling existinp among the people. The alliance 
with France had been effected and published, and the joy was almost unbounded. 
No one thought now of British protection, but determined to fight out the contest to 
a final and complete victory. 

For some time after Sir William Howe bad embarked his troops at Perth Am- 
boy, there hung great uncertainty over his destination, but on the 30th of July the 
fleet appeared off the Capes of Delaware apparently desiring, but fearing to enter 
the river, and only finally reached the Chesapeake on the i6th of August. Washing- 
ton, upon learning this, concentrated his army at once in the vicinity of Philadel- 
phia. On the 25th of August the British landed at the Ferry of Elk Run. The 
whole force was computed at 18,000 men. On the 15th of September occurred the 
battle of Brandy wine. Various movements and skirmishes succeeded — the taking 
of the forts on the Delaware, the battle of Germantown, and finally the occupation 
of the city of Philadelphia, the great object of solicitude on the part of Howe during 
the whole summer. Then came news of the capture of Burgoyne at Saratoga, Octo- 
ber 13, and Washington encamped at Valley Forge, on the Schuylkill, and' the 
active operations of another year ended. 

If now we pause for a moment, and reflect how different the aspects of Decem- 
ber, 1777, were from those in December, 1776, when the American troops just 
escaped capture, by a retreat all the way from the Hudson to the Delaware, we shall 
see that some effective progress had been made toward the final result. Trenton and 



75 

Princeton led off the advance early in the year, then came the failure of Sir William 
Howe to make his way across New Jersey and seize as his prey the city of Philadel- 
phia, his long and circuitous route to reach that point costing him half a year, and 
closing with the capitulation of Burgoyne and his whole army. It was indeed an 
advance. Washington was beginning to have troops upon whom he could depend, 
and the British had learned that they were not invincible. The spirit of patriotism 
rose, hope began to point to ultimate success, and the next year promised better 
results, and they were realized. 



No. XXII.— REVOLUTION CONTINUED, 1778. 



WE have seen the British resting in Philadelphia, in the winter of 1777 and 
1778, and Washington watching them along the Schuylkill from Valley 
Forge and Whitemarsh. The winter was a dreary and discouraging one. 
The American troops were ill-clad, ill- fed, and exposed to sickness, but they en- 
dured it all with patriotic patience, and waited for the opening of the next spring 
for action. The British army had been comfortable in their quarters in the city, 
and the oflBcers had sought to ingratiate themselves with the inhabitants by "the- 
atricals, balls and suppers," but their success had hardly corresponded to the eCForts 
put forth. They lingered in their pleasant quarters through the whole spring, but 
finally, on the i8th of June, crossed the Delaware at Camden and Burlington, and 
proceeded on their march to the city of New York, by the way of Allentown. Wash- 
ington put his troops in motion to follow their footsteps, and if possible, bring on an 
engagement before they reached their ships on the Monmouth shores. He crossed 
his army at Coryelle's Ferry and marched by the way of Pennington and Kingston, 

From the lines on which the two armies were marching, it soon became evident 
that there would be a meeting and conflict somewhere in the vicinity of Freehold 
or Englishtown, in Monmouth county. Washington was greatly embarrassed, 
however. Lee, with five other general officers, was in favor of the policy of a per- 
petual annoyance of the enemy on the march, but Green, Wayne and Lafayette, 
thought with Washington, that it was possible to defeat the whole British army and 
take them prisoners before they could extricate themselves and reach their ships in 
the Raritan Bay. Finally, soon after passing the Millstone at Kingston, the Com- 
mander-in-Chief determined to take the responsibility and to carry out his own pri- 
vate views by attacking his enemy with his whole force. Detaching Wayne, with 
1,000 men to the front, and giving Lafayette command of all the advanced parties, 
he moved forward the main body of his troops to Cranbury on the 26th of June. On 
the 27th, Lafayette reached Englishtown. Sir Henry Clinton apprehending an im- 
mediate attack, placed all his baggage in his front and took up a strong position at 
Freehold. 

In this situation the morning of the 28th of June dawned. It was the Christian 
Sabbath. The sky was cloudless over the plains of Monmouth, and the sun came 
up with all the fervor of the summer solstice. It was the sultriest day of the year 
but twenty thousand men had girded on the implements of cruel war. 

We refer to the published description of the battle for particulars. The first 
mistake was made by General Charles Lee in retreating before the enemy, when he 
was expected to fight them until Washington had time to bring up his troops. When 
he met Lee he was fearfully angry and spoke to him in severe and reproving tones. 
The manner more than the words stung the delinquent and produced a resentful 
reply. Washington turned and rallied the regiments of Ramsey, Stewart and 
Oswald,' who with two pices of cannon, from an eminence on the road side, 
checked the advancing British. He threw himself in the very front, where the 



77 

storm of iron hail was raging furiouslj*, and shouting with a voice that rose above 
the din of battle, turned and urged forward his quailing troops. Never before had 
he been seen so earnest or so great. The action now soon became general, result- 
ing about sunset in a decided advantage in favor of the Americans, but the darkness 
prevented any further prosecution ot it. Washington slept in his cloak on the bat- 
tle field, under an oak, determined in the morning to renew the contest, but when 
the morning dawned, the enemy were not visible. They had been marching towards 
Middletown for several hours. The weather, the sandyness of the roads, and the 
want of water made pursuit impossible. Sir Henrj- Clinton, in writing home, gave 
a beautiful account of his "moonlight march," but to the Americans it seemed very 
much like sneaking out of a fair fight and running away sheltered by the night's 
darkness. All military authorities unite in the opinion that if Lee had performed 
what was expected from him and held the British army in check until Washington 
had time to come up, it would have been a complete Waterloo for them, and with 
two British armies prisoners, the war would have been, in effect, ended. As it was, 
the enemy reached the Middletown shore, and hastened on board their ships waiting 
to receive them, and so escaped into the city of New York to wait for another season 
for further efforts. 

Washington was so indignant at the conduct of Lee that he had him arrested 
and given over to a court martial, which is noticed as being in session at New Bruns- 
wick on the 4th of July. On the day before Lee sent an insolent note to the pub- 
lisher of The New Jersey Gazette to the following effect, dated from New Brunswick: 
" Sir — Not satisfied with robbing me and the brave men under my command of the 
credit due to us with respect to the affairs of the 28th, such an atrocious attack has 
been made on my conduct, and so gross are the injuries that I have received, that I 
have demanded a court martial, which is to be held to morrow. The reason that I 
have addressed this rote to you is that a most invidious, dishonest and false relation 
has appeared in your last paper, July ist. I must therefore entreat, as you are an 
honest man, that you will desire your readers to consider the aforesaid relation as a 
fiction. Before long they will have a minate, just and faithful account. In the 
meantime I beg you will print this note, and I am, sir, your mo»t obedient servant 
Signed Charles Lee." 

Not content with this, he sent the same date, another in the following words, to 
the same paper : "Sir — I desire you will consider this as a postscript to the note I 
have already addressed to you, and that you will request whatever printer is your 
correspondent in Philadelphia, to insert the note and postscript in his paper. To 
call the affair a complete victory would be a dishonorable gasconade. It was indeed 
a very handsome check, which did the Americans honor. No affair can be more 
convincing of what they are equal to, in a retrograde movement of nearly four 
miles. No confusion was observable but what arose, and ever will arise, from a 
monstrous abuse, which, if tolerated, will be one day fatal. I mean the liberty 
which individuals, without authority, take to direct and give their opinions. The 
behavior of the whole, both men and officers, was so equally good, that it would be 
unjust to make distinctions, though I confess it is difficult to restrain from paying 
compliments to the artillery, from General Knox and Colonel Oswald, down to the 
very drivers. It is difficult to say which was the decisive point. It was a battle in 
pieces, and by dint of fighting in a variety of places, on the plain and in the woods, 
by advancing and retreating, the enemy were at last fairly worn down. I am yours, 
Charles Lee." 

The vain and incompetent man draws his own porttait in these unwarrantable 



78 

communications. The inquiry was fatal to the General, and the court sentenced 
him to be dismissed for a year from the army. The verdict was confirmed by Con- 
gress in 1780, and he left the army never to return. He resided awhile in Berkley, 
Virginia, where he owned an estate, but finally went to Philadelphia and took lodg - 
ings in the "slate roof" house, once the residence of William Penn, where he died in 
poverty and obscurity, October 2, 1782, at the age of 51. He is represented as a man 
of opposite qualities, brilliant and brave, but coarse, profane and irreligious. His 
will was a perfect picture of the man. It was in this way : " I desire most earnestly 
that I may not be buried in any church or churchyard, or within a mile of any 
Presbyterian or Anabaptist meeting house, for since I have resided in this country, 
I have kept such bad company when living that I do not choose to continue it when 
dead." He was a native of Wales, had been in the French war, wandered all over 
Europe, been an Indian Chief on the Mohawk, a partizan with Koskiusco, and 
finally an American general. His last words were, " Stand by me, my brave 
grenadiers." 

On the day the battle of Monmouth was fought, the French fleet arrived off the 
coast. One month earlier and it would have caught the British army in Philadel- 
phia and the British fleet in the Delaware, and ensured the capture of both. It was 
proposed to attempt the same thing now in the harbor of New York, but the water 
on the bay at Sandy Hock proved to be so shallow that the ships could not enter. 
An attack on Rhode Island was determined on, and Lafayette and Green were 
detached with troops to aid in the attempt. The rest of the troops, after remaining 
for a time at White Plains, were sent finally to West Point and Danbury, Connecti- 
cut. '4 In the meantime a movement was made up the Hudson on both sides of the 
river at the same time, the principal object of which seemed to be forage, but 
resulted in several disasters. 

From Monmouth, Washington marched his army again to the North River, 
above;NewYork, sent a part of it into Rhode Island to assist in the attack made by 
the French fleet upon Newport. He himself continued with his troops at Haver- 
straw. 

In such desultory movements the season was spent, and the French fleet in 
December went to winter in the West Indies and the campaign closed. 

Washington, with the remainder of his troops, came to the vicinity of Somer- 
ville and selected as the place for encampment, the slope of woodland northeast of 
Mount Pleasant. The ofiScers occupied the huts which had been erected on the side 
of the mountain east of the gorge of Chimney Rock. He himself took up his quar- 
ters at the house of William Wallace, in Somerville, and here Mrs. Washington 
came and joined him, and they passed the winter. 



No. XXIII. -REVOLUTION CONTINUED, 1778-79. 



THE property upon which the encampment at Mt. Pleasant, lyi miles below 
Somerville, was made in 1778 and '79, belonged to Derick Van Veghten. 
When the army came there it was a beautiful and valuable piece of wood- 
land. It served first as a partial shelter for the exposed troops, then furnished tim- 
ber for the huts which the soldiers built for themselves and their officers. In a few 
weeks after it had been selected, a village grew up, with its streets and open spaces 
serving as a parade ground, not much unlike a western town, and from January 
until June it was thronged with busy men and constant military activity. For all 
the waste of timber and other damages the proprietor never received any compensa- 
tion. It is not said that he either expected or atked it at any time. There were 
about 7,000 men at Mount Pleasant and at Chimney Rock, the principal part at the 
former place. The Commander in-Chief had, on the 26th of October, through Lord 
Sterling, caused the following resolutions of the Continental Congress to be pub- 
lished to the army, subscribed by Francis Barber, Adjutant General, viz. : 

"Whereas, Religion and good morals are the only solid foundation of public 
liberty and happiness. 

"■Resolved, That it be and hereby is earnestly recommen-led to the several 
States to take the most effectual measures for the encouragement thereof, and for 
the suppression of theatrical entertainments, horse racing, gaming and such other 
diversions as are productive of idleness, dissipation, and general depravity of prin- 
ciples and manners. 

''Resolved, That all officers in the army of the United States be hereby strictly 
enjoined to see that the good and wholesome rules provided for the discountenance 
of profaneness and vice, and the preservation of morals among the soldiers, are duly 
and punctually observed. 

" In consequence whereof, the Commander in-Chief of the army in this State 
directs that strict obedience to the foregoing resolves be paid by all officers and 
soldiers within the same. By order of Major General Lord Sterling, Coniniauder of 
the Confederate troops in New Jersey. Francis Barber, Adjutant General." 

On the 6th of February, 1779, when the encampment was just completed and 
regular order fully established, Washington himself supplemented the above by the 
following additional orders : 

"The Commander-in-Chief approves of the order issued by Major General 
Lord Sterling during his command at the camp, and thanks him for the endeavor 
to preserve order and discipline, and the property of the farmers in the vicinity of 
the camp. He doubts not but the officers of every rank, from a just sense of the 
importance of securing to others the blessings they themselves are contending for, 
will use their utmost vigilence to maintain those privileges and prevent abuses, ns 
nothing can redound more to their personal honor and the reputation of their 
respective corps. Extract from general orders. Alexander S<»mtuil, Adjutant 
General." 

We quote these orders as memorable evidences of the noble character of their 
immortal author. As military papers they are as unusual as they are excellent. 



80 

They furnish likewise characteristics of the days in which they appeared. It was 
in all respects a better age and time than our degenerate, selfish and mercenary 
days. Our great men are too often ashamed to speak in favor of anything good, 
because it is so clear to all that there is no good in them. In the meantime, Mrs. 
Washington had come from Virginia to join her husband and together they found 
pleasant quarters at the house formerly owned by Caleb Miller, (now by The Revo- 
lutionary Memorial Society), in Somerville. Here, aside from the bustle of the 
camp, and in the intelligent family of Mrs. Wallace, they reposed in the enjoyment 
of domestic affection, and here also, during this winter of 1778 and '79, the details 
of the expedition of General Sullivan, into the Indian country on the upper waters 
of the Susquehanna and the Lakes in Central New York, were all settled. The 
provocation of this raid into their country was the bloody massacre at Wyoming, 
perpetrated during the preceding autumn, and it taught them a lesson which was 
long remembered. 

Precisely when the encampment broke up in the next summer is not readily 
ascertained. General Wayne, whose corps lay on the south side of the Raritan 
river, left there on the last days of June for Stony Point, which he assaulted and 
captured on the 15th of July. It is probable that the troops were gradually with- 
drawn as the exigencies of the service demanded during the months of May and 
June, and from this time our county ceased to be the resting place of the armies 
fighting in the cause of liberty, and the foot of a British soldier trod it no more, 
except in one hasty visit, which is to be related. 

The alliance which had been formed with France, in consequence of which 
Rochambeau and Count De Grasse were sent to the United States, was, during the 
winter 1779, a matter of universal congratulation. After the army had been com- 
fortably hutted, the officers of the artillery stationed in the vicinity of Pluckamin 
gave an entertainment, consisting of a ball and supper in honor of the event. We 
extract the following account of this joyous occasion from contemporary records. It 
is in the following words : " The anniversary of our alliance with France was cele- 
brated on the i8th ultimo at Pluckamin at a very elegant entertainment and display 
of fireworks given by General Knox and the officers of the Corps of Artillery. It 
was postponed to this late day on account of the Commander-in-Chief being absent 
from the camp. General Washington, the principal officers of the army, with Mrs. 
Washington, Mrs. Green, Mrs. Knox and the ladies and gentlemen of a large cir- 
cuit round the camp, were of the company. Besides these, there was a vast con- 
course of spectators from every part of the Jerseys. 

The barracks of the artillery are at a small distance from Pluckamin, on a piece 
of rising ground, which shows them to great advantage. The entertainment and ball 
were held at the academy of the park. About 4 o'clock in the afternoon the cele- 
bration of the Alliance was announced by the discharge of 13 cannon, when the 
company assembled in the academy to a very elegant dinner. The room was 
spacious and the tables prettily disposed, both as to prospect and convenience. The 
festivity was universal and the toasts descriptive of the happy event, which had 
given certainty to our liberties, empire and independence. In the evening was 
exhibited a very fine set of fireworks, conducted by Colonel Stevens, arranged on 
the point of a temple 100 feet in length and proportionately high. The temple 
showed 13 arches, each displaying an illuminated painting. The centre arch was 
ornamented with a pediment larger than the others, and the whole edifice supported 
by a colonade of the Corinthian order. 

The illuminated paintings were disposed in the following order : The first arch 



81 

on the right represented the commencement of hostilities at Lexington, with this 
inscription — " The Scene opened ;" Second, "British Clemency," represented in 
the burning of Charleston, Falmouth, Norfolk and Kingston ; Third, " The separa- 
tion of America from Britain." By your tyranny to the people of America, you have 
separated the wide arch of an extended empire ; Fourth, " Britain represented as a 
decaying empire, by a barren country, broken arches, fallen spires, ships deserting 
its shores, birds of prey hovering over its mouldering| cities, and a gloomy setting 
sun. Motto : 

" The Babylonian spires are sunk 
Achaia, Rome and Egypt mouldered down ; 
Time shakes the stable tyranny of thrones, 
And tottering Enipires crushed by their own weight.' " 

Fifth, America represented as a rising Empire, prospect of a fertile country, harbors 
and rivers covered with ships, new canals opening, cities rising amidst woods, splen- 
did sun emerging from a bright horizon. Motto : 

" New worlds are seen emerging from the deep 
The old descending in their turns to rise." 

Sixth, A grand illuminated representation of Louis XVI, the encourager of letterp, 
the rights of humanity, the ally and friend of the American people ; Seventh, The 
centre arch. The Fathers in Congress. Motto, Nil desperaiiduin Reiptiblicae ; 
Eighth, The American Philosopher and Ambassador, extracting lightning from the 
clouds: Ninth, Battle near Saratoga, October 7, 1777; Tenth, The convention of 
Saratoga ; Pyleventh, A representatie n of the sea fight off Ushant, between Count de 
Orvilllers and Admiral Keppel ; Twelfth, Warren, Montgomery, Mercer, Wooster, 
Nash and a crowd of heroes who have fallen in the American contest, in Elysium, 
receiving the thanks and praises of Brutus, Cato and those other spirits, who, in all 
ages, have gloriously struggled against tyrants and tyranny. Motto, " Those who 
shed their blood in such a cause shall live and reign forever ;" Thirteenth, Repre- 
sented peace, with all her train of {blessings, her right hand displaying an olive 
branch, at her feet lay the honors of harvest, the background was filled with flour- 
ishing cities, ports crowded with ships and other elements of an extended Empire 
and unrestrained commerce. 

When the fire works were finished the company returned to the Academy and 
concluded the celebration by a very splendid ball. The whole was conducted in a 
style and manner that reflects great honor on the task of the managers. 

The news announced to Congress, from the Spanish branch of the house of 
Bourbon arriving at the moment of celebration, nothing could so opportunely have 
increased the good humor of the company, or added to the animated expressions of 
pleasure which arose on the occasion. 

The exact locality of the Academy, tradition fixes on the east side of the village 
street, a short distance north of the late Boylan residence, and the artillery camp 
was on the mountain side at the edge of the wood, on the farm of the late Dr. Henry 
Van Derveer. There are many graves yet visible near the encampment at the foot 
of the mountain. 

The spring of 1780, while Washington lingered with his army near Somerville, 
was a characteristic season of the war. It was earnestly 'hoped, and by many 
believed, that the French alliance would bring peace and in/ependence very soon. 
So they thought at Pluckamin acd represented in one of their illuminated paint- 



82 

ings. In some respects it was an unfortunate delusion, for it tended to paralize the 
exertions of Congress ard the people generally, and produced delay in all the 
departments of the civil and military service. 

Then the currency had become largely depreciated. The dollar, which in 1777 
was worth seven shillings and six pence, in 1780 passed for only three pence. We 
have had the use of an old list made as a memorandum of this progress of the down- 
fall of the circulating medium, and append it as a curiosity. 

September, 1777, the Continental dollar passed for seven shillings and 6 pence ; 
October, los ; November, 6s 3p ; December, 5s 8p ; January, 1778, 5s 2p ; February, 
4s 8p ; March, 4s 3p ; April, 3s gp ; May 3s 3p ; June, 2s lop ; July, 2s 6p ; August, 
2s 2p ; September, is lo^p ; October, is 7>4p ; November, is 4p ; December, is 2p ; 
January, 1779, is ; February, loj^P ; March, gp ; April, 8p ; May, 7;^p ; June, 6>^p ; 
July, 6p ; August, 5^p ; September, 5p ; October, 4 >^p ; November. 4p ; December, 
3KPi January, 1780, 3P ; February, 3p ; March, 2}4p, and up to the i8th of May, 
1780, 2 i-iop and then o. How the people managed in such a state of things to sell or 
traflSc at all is a mystery, and how the armries were kept in the field is almost a 
miracle. It is only another confirmation of the adage "what is to be done will be 
done." Robert Morris's immense fortune was often the only confidence which 
floated the Continental currency and kept the armies in the field. 

In June the army broke up its encampment and moved to the vicinity of Hack- 
ensack. Stony Point was taken by General Anthony Wayne on the rsth of July, 
on the i8th of August, Lord Sterling, aided by Majore Lee, assaulted and took the 
fort at Paules Hook, now Jersey City, making prisoners of 150 men and officers. 

The county of Bergen suffered greatly during the whole summer, and in Mon. 
mouth, the Tories and Pine Robbers were a perpetual annoyance. 

Somerset was exempt from any disturbance, and the armies did not in any way 
intrude on the pursuits of husbandry. Only once the army passed through the 
county on its way to Yorktown at the close of the war, while Congress was in 
session at Princeton. Washington and his guard and officers attended there for a 
short period, and we therefore close here the Revolutionary history of our county 
so far as active operations are concerned. 



No. XXIV.-SIMCOE'S RAID AND CONCLUDING 
SCENES OF THE REVOLUTION. 



ONE of the most celebrated incidents of the war, especially in Somerset County, 
was the raid of Lieutenant Colonel Simcoe from Amboy to Van Veghten's 
Bridge, in which he succeeded in the burning of a number of boats lying in 
the Raritan, one and one half miles below Somerville, the Church of Raritan, the 
Court House at Millstone, and reached the ambuscade formed to protect and receive 
him and his corps at Spotswood, with the loss of only three men killed and six taken 
prisoners, one of which was Simcoe himself. Colonel Lee says in his " Memoirs of 
the War," that it was considered by both armies among the handsomest exploits of 
the war. The corps called the " Queen's Rangers," which made this raid, consisted 
of native American? who favored the Royal cause, enlisted chielly in the vicinity of 
New York and Connecticut. It had mustered at one time four hundred men, but 
was reduced in numbers when Colonel Simcoe assumed the command in 1777. He 
soon made it as a corps a model of order, bravery and military skill, and it was in 
its very best condition when acting in New Jersey. We are then to understand that 
it was not British soldiers who committed the outrage on property devoted to reli- 
gious purposes, but renegade Americans, and the pilot it is said was Jim Stewart, a 
native of Somerset county. We have here an account of this raid from Lieutenant 
Colonel Simcoe himself, and we shall let him give bis own version and then append 
our comments. The following is an extract from his Military Journal, published 
under his own supervision : 

" On the 25th of October, by eight o'clock at night, the detachment, which had 
been detailed, marched to Billop's Point, where they were to embark. That the 
enterprise might be eflFectually concealed, Colonel Simcoe described a man as a rebel 
spy said to be on the island and endeavoring to escape to New Jersey. A great 
reward was offered for taking him, and the militia of the island were watching all 
the points where it was possible for any man to find exit in order to apprehend him. 
The batteau and boats which were appointed to be ready at Billop's Point and to 
pass the whole over by twelve o'clock at night, did not arrive until three o'clock in 
the morning. No time was lost. The infantry of the Queen's Rangers were landed; 
they ambuscaded every avenue to the town. The cavalry followed as fast as possi- 
ble. As soon as it was formed Lieutenant Colonel Simcoe called together the 
officers. He told them of his plan, 'that he meant to burn the boats at Van 
Veghten's bridge, and crossing the Raritan at Hillsborough, to return by the road 
to Brunswick, and making a circuit to avoid that place as soon as he came near it, to 
discover himself when beyond it, on the heights where the Grenadier Redout stood 
while the British troops were cantoned there, and where the Queen's Rangers after- 
ward had been encamped, and to entice the militia, if possible, to follow him into 
an ambuscade which the infantry would lay for them at South River bridge.' " 



84 

Major Armstrong was instructed to re-embark as soon as the cavalry marched, 
and to land on the opposite side of the Raritan at South Amboy. He was then, with 
the utmost dispatch and silence, to proceed to the South River bridge, six miles 
from South Amboy, where he was to ambuscade himself without passing the bridge 
or taking it up. A smaller creek falls into this river on the South Amboy side ; 
into the peninsula formed by these streams. Lieutenant Colonel Simcoe hoped to 
allure the Jersey militia. In case of accident, Major Armstrcng was desired to give 
credit to any messenger who should give him the parole of " Clinton and Montrose." 
It was daybreak before the cavalry left Amboy. 

The procuring of guides had been by Sir Henry Clinton intrusted to Brigadier 
Skinner. He either did not or could not obtain them, for but one was found who 
knew perfectly the cross road he meant to take to avoid the main road from Som- 
set court house or Hillsborough to Brunswick. Captain Sanford formed the advance 
guard, the Huzzars followed, and Stuart's men were in the rear, making, in the 
whole, about eighty. A Justice Crow was soon overtaken. Lieutenant Colonel 
Simcoe accosted him roughly, called him "Tory," nor seemed to believe his excuses 
when in the American idiom for courtship, he said "he had only been sparking," 
but sent him to the rear guard, who, being Americans, easily comprehended their 
instructions and kept up the Justice's belief that the party was a detachment from 
Washington's army. Many plantations were now passed by, the inhabitants of 
which were up, and whom the party accosted with friendly salutations. 

At Qaibbletown, Lieutenant Colonel Simcoe had just quitted the advance guard 
to speak to Lieutenant Stuart, (i) when, from a public house on the turn of the road, 
some people came out with knapsacks on their shoulders, bearing the appearance 
of a rebel guard. Captain Sanford did not see them till he had passed by, when, 
checking his horse to give notice, the Huzzars were reduced to a momentary halt 
opposite the house. Perceiving the supposed guard, they threw themselves off their 
horses, sword in hand, and entered the house. Simcoe instantly made them 
remount, but they failed to discover some thousand pounds of paper money which 
had been taken from a passenger, the master of a privateer, nor could he stay to 
search for it. He told the man "that he would be answerable to give him his money 
that night at Brunswick, where he should quarter," and exclaimed aloud to his 
party, "that these were not the Tories they were in search of, although they had 
knapsacks," and told the country people who were assembling around, "that a 
party of Tories had made their escape from Sullivan's army, and were trying to get 
into Staten Island, as Iliff (who had been defeated near this very spot, taken and exe- 
cuted) had formerly done, and that he was sent to intercept them." 

The sight of Justice Crow would probably have aided in deceiving the inhabi- 
tants, but unfortunately, a man personally knew Simcoe, and an express was sent to 
Governor Livingston, then at Brunswick, as soon as the party marched. It was 
now conducted by a country lad whom they fell in with, and to whom Captain Sand- 
ford (being dressed in red, and without his cloak) had been introduced as a French 
ofiBcer. He gave information that the greater part of the boats had been sent on to 
Washington's camp, but that eighteen were at Van Veghten's bridge, and that their 
horses were at a farm about a mile from it. He led the party to an old camp of 
Washington's above Bound Brook. (2) Simcoe's instructions were to " burn these 
huts," if possible, in order to give as wide an alarm to the Jerseys as he could. He 
found it impracticable to do so, they not being joined in ranges, nor built of very 
combustible materials. 



85 

He proceeded without delay to Bound Brook from whence he intended to carry 
ofF Colonel Moyland, but he was not at Rlr. Van Horn's. (3) Two officers who had 
been ill were there, their paroles were taken, and they were ordered to mark " sick 
quarters " over the room door they inhabited, which was done, and Mr. Van Horn 
was informed that the party was the advance guard of the left column of the army, 
which was commanded by General Birch, who meant to quarter that night at bis 
house, and that Sir Henry Clinton was in full march for Morristown with the army. 

The party proceeded to Van Veghten's bridge. Simcoe found eighteen new 
flat boats upon carriages ; they were full of water. He was determined efTectually to 
destroy them. Combustibles had been applied for, and he received in consequence 
a few port fires ; every huzzar had a hand grenade, and several hatchets were 
brought with the party. The timbers of the boats were cut through. They were 
filled with straw and railing, and some grenades being fastened in them, they were 
set on fire. Forty minutes were employed in this business. 

The country began to assemble in their rear, and, as Simcoe went to the Dutch 
meeting house, where the harness and some stores were reported to be, a rifle shot 
was fired at him from the opposite bank of the river. This house, with a magazine 
of forage, was now consumed. (4) The commissary and his people being made 
prisoners. The party proceeded to Somerset Court House or Hillsborough. Simcoe 
told the prisoners not to be alarmed, that he would give them their paroles before 
he left the Jerseys, but he could not help heavily lamenting to the officers with him, 
the sinster event which prevented him from being at Van Veghten's bridge some 
hours sooner, as it would have been very feasible to have drawn off the flat boats to 
the South river instead of destroying them. He proceeded to Somerset Court House. 
Three loyalists who were prisoners there were liberated. One was a dreadful spec- 
tacle ; he appeared to have been almost starved and was chained to the floor. (5) 
The soldiers wished, and it was permitted, to burn the court house. It was uncon- 
nected with any other building, and, by its flames, showed on which side of the Rar- 
itan he was, and would, most probably, operate to assemble the neighborhood of 
Brunswick at its bridge, to prevent him from returning by that road. 

The party proceeded toward Brunswick, Alarm guns were now heard, and some 
shots were fired at the rear, particularly by one person, who, as it afterward 
appeared, (being out a shooting and hearing of the incursion) had sent word to 
Governor Livingston, who was at Brunswick, that he would follow the party at a dis- 
tance, and every now and then give a shot, that he might know which way they 
directed their march. Passing by some houses Simcoe told the women to inform 
four or five people who were pursuing the rear, " that if they fired another shot, he 
would burn every house which he passed." A man or two were now slightly 
wounded. 

As the party approached Brunswick Simcoe began to be anxious for the cross 
road diverging from it into the Princeton road, which he meant to pursue, and which 
having once arrived at, he himself knew the by ways to the heights he wished to 
attain, where having frequently done duty, he was minutely acquainted with every 
advantage and circumstance of the ground. 

His guide was perfectly confident that he had not yet arrived at it, and Simcoe 
was in earnest conversation with him, and making the necessary inquiries, when a 
shot, at some little distance, discovered there was a party in the front. He immedi- 
ately galloped thither and he sent back Wright, his orderly sergeant, to acquaint 
Captain Sanford " that the shot had not been fired at the party," when, on the right 



86 

at some distance, he saw the rail fence (which was very high on both sides of the 
narrow road between two woods) somewhat broken down, and a man or two near it, 
when, putting his horse on the canter, he joined the advance men of the Huzzars, 
determining to pass through this opening, so as to avoid every ambuscade that 
might be laid for him, or attack, upon more equal terms, Colonel Lee (whom he 
understood to be in the neighborhood, and apprehended might be opposed to him), 
or any other party, when he saw some men concealed behind logs and bushes, 
between him and the opening he meant to pass through, and he heard the words 
" Now, now," and found himself, when he recovered his senses, a prisoner with the 
enemy, his horse being killed with five bullets, and himself stunned by the violence 
of his fall. 



No. XXV.— SIMCOE'S RAID AND BURNING OF RARI- 
TAN CHURCH, OCTOBER 27, 1779. 



1. Lieutenant Stewart was a native of Somerset county, a partisan Royalist, 
and extensively known as " Tory Jim." If he had been recognized anywhere about 
Bound Brook or Raritau it would not have been well for him. 

2. This encampment was on the mountain side east of the gorge of Chimney 
Rock . 

3. It is understood that Colonel Moyland had married a daughter of Mr. Van 
Horn, and was known to be frequently there on visits to his wife. 

4. "The Dutch Meeting" was the Church of Raritan, built in 1721, on land 
donated to the congregation by Michael Van Veghten. Some of the ropes used in 
hauling the boats from the Delaware had been thrown under the portico of the 
church, but anything else that could be called property or " stores " there was not ; the 
rifle shot fired from the opposite side of the river was only a shot gun loaded for 
shooting pigeons, ard fired by a young man at such long range as to do no possible 
execution, who immediately took to his heels and ran away. There was no " maga. 
zine of forage " anywhere near the bridge, with the exception of the ropes, and there 
had been nothihg else there at any time. The boats were intended to be floated 
down the river and employed in making a descent on Stateu Island.and attacking 
the British encampments there, and it is a mistake to say that a commissary and his 
people were made prisoners. We say this on the authority of a witness living on the 
Raritan at that very time and perfectly cognisant of all the particulars, from whose 
lips we are giving our testimony. Simcoe's account was written, probably, long 
after the time when the event occurred and particulars were forgotten, and the 
burning of the church, therefore, stands unexcused as a wanton outrage, for which 
there was no provocation in the circumstances of the case, or in the recognized rules 
of civilized warfare. 

5. We have no special information in regard to the prisoners of the jail at Mill- 
stone ; but we believe the scene described to be an exaggeration. The partizans of 
the British, it is true, were not much respected in Somerset county.but humanity was 
never forgotten in dealing with them. They had coats of "tar and feathers," 
bestowed on them, but "almost starvation" is evidently an hyperbolic form of 
expression. 

6. The result near DeMott's Tavern, two miles west of New Brunswick, requires 
more additions than any other part of the narrative to render it complete. Colonel 
Simcoe's horse was shot under him and he himself was th.own violently to the 
ground and rendered insensible. James Schureman, of New Brunswick, saved his 
life by thrusting aside the bayonet of a soldier of the militia who attempted to stab 
him ; he was braced against a tree, and Dr. Jonathan Ford Morris, afterwards of 
Somerville, then a student of medicine in New Brunswick, bled him and adminis- 
tered such restoratives as could be obtained. lie was then taken to New Brunswick 



88 

and properly cared for. He recovered, was exchanged ; entered on his command 
again a i;d was present with his Corps, the Queen's Rangers, at Spencer's ordinary 
on James River, July, 1781 ; at King's Bridge, January, 1778, and at Oyster Bay, 
Long Island, 1778-9, where there was literally a " nest of Tories," of whom William 
Franklin, late Governor of New Jersey, was Chief. The best we can say of Colonel 
Simcoe, is, that he seems to have been too good for the company he kept. He be- 
came, after the Revolution, Governor of Upper Canada, and wrote to enquire for 
the young man who had so kindly and humanely assisted him at DeMott's Tavern ; 
and again, a second time, to Dr. Morris himself, thanking him for his attentions, 
and offering him advancement and active assistance, provided he would visit him in 
Canada ; which Mr. Morris saw reason to decline. 

Among the pursuers of the Rangers from Millstone was Captain G. P. Voorhees, 
a brave man, who in his ardor outstripped his comrades. Seeing him alone, several 
of the Rangers turned upon him and in attempting to leap a fence to escape from 
their assault his horse became entangled and hung on the rails. In this situation 
he was terribly hacked with their swords, and carried bleeding to New Brusnwick. 
where he died in a few hours. 

After the loss of their leader, the Rangers hastened to appointed rendezvous at 
South River ; and there Dr. Riker and Mr. John Polhemus were made prisoners by 
the covering party sent from Amboy to protect them as they came in. The whole 
enterprise was certainly conducted with spirit and resulted in the less of fewer lives 
than could have been expected. The benefits were nothing, but the disabling of 
eighteen flat boats which would not have been used, had they not been burned. As 
to the prisoners at Millstone, no one especially cared ; it was probably regarded as a 
good riddance, but the Church and Court House had done no harm ; and the first, 
especially, was not amenable to military execution ; and its destruction was neither 
justifiable or necessary, in any way, except as an annoyance to the citizens of [Som- 
erset County. The people were left without a permanent place of worship of their 
own for nine years, and the loss proved a serious obstacle to the success of the minis- 
try of Dr. Hardenburgh, when it was above all things important to the preservation 
of order and good morals in the community. He continued however to preach and 
to pursue his pastoral work. The Congregation worshipped in the Court Martial 
house at Mount Pleasant until the fall of 1783, when they occupied the new building 
built by the County and Congregation conjointly for a Court House and place of 
worship, upon the site now occupied by Franz Schell's dwelling house. East Main 
street, Somerville, in which they worshipped until they built the brick church in 
1788, which was taken down in 1834, to be replaced by another brick structure. [The 
latter was replaced by the present handsome stone church in 1897. — Ed.] Before 
this, however. Dr. Hardenburgh had removed to Ulster County, N. Y., and the 
Rev. John Duryea had been called as pastor. 



No. XXVI.-THE CONCLUDING SCENES OF THE REV- 
OLUTION 1780 TO 1783 AND PEACE. 



AFTER, the burning of the Church of Raritan and the Court House at Millstone, 
as we have related in the preceding section, on the i8th of October, 1778, 
the tide of war drifted away almost entirely from Somerset county. It was 
a great relief to its inhabitants and left them time to recuperate a little from their 
severe losse?. The fact was, they were reduced in many instances to almost actual 
want. The armies had eaten out their substance almost entirely. The farmers 
often had not been able to save grain enough to give their families bread, and sufi5ce 
to seed their fields for another harvest. But though pinched they were not dis- 
couraged, nor had their firm patriotism evaporated. The depreciation of the "con- 
tinental currency " was more perplexing and entailed, in many instances, more real 
loss than all previous injuries of the war. Contracts for the army could not be 
made in what was really worthless money, and in the winter of 17S0, the army at 
Morristown was reduced to "famine rations." A military requisition had to be 
made by Washington upon the people for supplies to feed his starving troops. 
With this necessary imposition New Jersey promptly complied, and Somerset 
county hastened to bring in her allotted contribution among the very first. 

The winter proved to be one of the most severe on record. The Raritan was 
completely frozen, and the inhabitants employed its icy surface as a public high- 
way. For almost four months it was more used than any road in the county. Grain 
was carted to market on sleds and pleasure parties glided over the smooth surface 
to their infinite enjoyment. 

Washington was confined by short rations to his camp at Morristown, but he 
was not unwakeful to surrounding scenes. As soon as the ice had formed between 
Staten Island and the mainland, to such a state of solidity as to admit of the passage 
of wagons and cannon, he thought of renewing the design entertained in the pre- 
ceding autumn of attacking the British post on the Island. The enterprise was 
committed to Lord Sterling, but the British were early apprised of his intentions, 
and the attempt failed — failed indeed in considerable loss to the American forces. 

Discontent arising out of the scarcity of food was so rife in the camp at Morris- 
town and so much magnified by reports that the British were led to think a favorable 
sentiment towards them was growing up, and even that a return of the people to 
their former allegiance was possible. This idea led the British on Staten Island to 
attempt making an effort to aid their supposed malcontents. General Kniphauseu 
crossed over to Elizabethtown point, and marched so far into the county of Union 
as Springfield on the sixth and seventh of June, but he soon found Low terribly he 
had mistaken the temper of the people. Governor Longston called upon the 
militia to rally for defense, and the British troops were so perpetually harrassed that 
they now only thought of revenge and a safe return. The village of Connecticut 
Farms, with the church, was given to the flames, and Mrs. Caldwell, the wife of.the 



90 

Rev. James Caldwell, of Elizabethtown, was shot in her own house with her children 
around her and a babe in her arms. It was claimed to have been an accident, but 
is believed to have had the impulse of revenge growing out of disappointment as 
its inciting cause. The incident had a large share in embittering the feelings of 
the inhabitants of the State against their enemies and inflaming their determinate 
resistance. After a short skirmish at Springfield, Kniphausen made his way back 
to Staten Island. 

Almost simultaneously with this move into New Jersey the French auxiliary ar- 
rived at Newport, July i8th. Washington immediately planned an attack upon the 
city of New York in conjunction with the French forces, but so many squadrons of 
British ships arrived on the coast about the same time that the French were con- 
fined to the harbor of Newport and unable to CO operate with the aimy at Morris- 
town. While Washington was absent at Hartlord, in consultation with Count 
Rochambeau, Arnold found an opportunity to attempt his long meditated treason of 
betraying West Point, the key to the Highlands, to Sir Henry Clinton, at New York, 
How it was defeated and how the amiable and accomplished Major Andre lost his 
life in consenting to be concerned in it, is too well known to be related here. Early 
in December the army went into winter quarters, the Pennsylvania troops near 
Morristown, the New Jersey troops ion Pompton Plains, and the New England 
troops near West Point, on both sides of the North River.; 

The season of 1781 opened in gloom The disappointment from the unavailable 
nature of the French aid was deep. Almost the only hope from abroad seemed to 
be confined to the disposition which had been manifested by the Hollanders, to 
unite in assisting the American patriots. Many in the army were still discontented, 
mostly from a misunderstanding in regard to the proper interpretation of the terms 
of enlistment, which read " for three years or during the war." The soldiers claimed 
discharge at the end of " three years," but the oflScers insisted on the other clause 
" or during the war." The Pennsylvania line broke out in open revolt and marched 
from Pompton as far as Trenton, where they were met by President Reed and in- 
duced to submit on certain specified conditions, having rejected with disdain the 
treacherous overtures made to them by Sir Henry Clinton. They had suffered and 
they considered themselves greatly wronged, but they were not justified in attempt- 
ing to redress their own grievances in such a summary way. 

Happily none of the efforts to seduce either the Pennsylvania or the New Jersey 
troops proved a success, and the revolt was crushed before it had time to spread 
among the other states. 

Washington still adhered to his plan of beseiging the city of New York, and 
capturing Sir Henry Clinton and his army, which had escaped from his grasp steal- 
thily after the battle of Monmouth. The French troops were even ordered to New- 
port early in June in anticipation of such a movement, but in August this idea was 
abandoned, and instead of it. Lord Cornwallis was besieged in Yorktown, the 
French fleet under Count De Grasse blockading the port and Washington surround- 
ing him on the land side. On this occasion all the troops in New Jersey as well as 
those at West Point hastened to the scene of active operations. 

This was the last time that any large military force was seen in Somerset county, 
and then only on its southern borders, going from Morristown to Pompton, by way 
of New Brunswick and Trenton to Philadelphia. It is said Clinton might easily, by 
a sudden attack, have interrupted this movement, greatly to the relief of Cornwal- 
lis, had he not been deceived by letters upon which he relied and which represented 



91 

it only as a feint, the real point of intended attack being himself in the city of New 
York. 

Finally, on the sixth day of October, the troops hastening to the point of opera, 
tion were all present, and the first cordon was drawn around the devoted city, and 
on the 19th, after a defense of thirteen days, Cornwallis capitulated, but not before 
almost every gun on the British fortifications had been dismounted and all their bat- 
teries silenced. The surrender included Yorktown and Gloucester Point, with their 
garrisons and the shipping in the harbor, and the seamen, the army, the arms, the 
military chest, with all the stores and ammunitions. 

It was a proud day for our bleeding country and it virtually ended the war. A 
show of hostilities was indeed kept up and skirmishing continued for a few months 
longer in the vicinities of Charleston and New York, but every one saw that the 
ruin brought upon the British interests by the loss of such any army as that sur- 
rendered at Yorktown was final. The state of feeling in England and the pressure 
upon the government from points and necessities nearer at home, forbade even an 
attempt to repair it. 

During the summer of 1782 the border warfare, especially in Monmouth county, 
was exceedingly bitter, and several great outrages were committed ; but in our 
county there was comparative quiet and at once peaceful industry and commerce 
revived. The feeling of the people really grew stronger in their determination to 
stand out to the last. They hoped for peace, but they felt resolute to endure to the 
end and to conquer it. 

On the 30th of November, 1782, the American Commissioners, John Adams, 
Benjamin Franklin, John Jay, and Henry Laurens, signed a treaty in the city of 
Ghent, which acknowledged the independence of Thirteen United Colonies and 
gave them peace. The treaty, however, did not take effect until the twentieth of 
January, 1783, when the general pacification was to go into operation. The tidings 
so happy and so ardently desired, were first communicated by Lafayette in a letter 
received on the twenty- fourth of March. Early in April a copy of the treaty arrived, 
and on the nineteenth of that month, 1783, a proclamation suspending hostilities 
was issued. It was done, but no one thought then what a great thing had really 
been effected, but all rejoiced that the bitter strife was ended and the liberties which 
the people thought were intended to be taken away from them had been secured. 
How great the event really was we scarcely yet know. To how many other events 
it has led and to how many more it still is to lead, God only knows. The men of 
that time knew that the weak had conquered and the right had triumphed, and they 
saw the hand of Providence in it. They knew it could not have been realized if 
Providence had not favored them. But, oh, how many desolate hearths and homes 
there were at the end of the war. The public rejoicing was great, but in many 
hearts there was a bleeding wound which nothing but death could cure. 

We have in this brief way thrown together the final events of the gallant con- 
test for liberty and inlependence. It will be seen that we have gone beyond our 
own county in relating them, but it seemed to be a necessity, otherwise our review 
of the Revolution would have been altogether one sided and incomplete. 

We have two or three interesting items remaining, which are distinct in them- 
selves and which will be given in subsequent numbers, and then we shall turn our 
attention to some things just after that grand event which makes us a nation and a 
people, and which is destined, we sincerely believe, to make us one of the greatest 
of modern nations, and one of the most numerous people upon the face of the earth. 



92 

A conjuncture of favorable circumstances certainly aided our ancestors in their 
struggle for liberty. Without these we have no idea their eflforts would have availed 
them. They were brave and determimed. We cannot laud their spirit too much, 
except making it equal to everything, and forgetting how much Providence did for 
them while they were painfully struggling to defend themselves. God is the God of 
the American people in a most important and endearing relation. He cherished 
them in the beginning, and in their great struggle visibly defended them. He has 
ever been favorable to our land and claims our acknowledgement and gratitude in 
all coming time. If America ever forgets its heavenly benefactor, she will already 
be near to destruction. 



No. XXVII.— THE LADIES IN THE REVOLUTION. 



1 



ri^HE suffering of the poor soldiers in their log huts on the south side of Kimball's 
Mountain, west of Morristown, during the dreadful winter of 1780, when food 
was so scarce and many of them so poorly and scantily clothed, excited a wide- 
spread and deep sympathy in the public mind. It manifested itself most promi- 
nently and perhaps the earliest among the ladies of Philadelphia. They aroused 
themselves immediately for action and began by forming an association for the suf- 
ferers relief. Never, says one, was the energy of a noble and genuine sympathy 
more nobly expressed than by the noble matrons of the Quaker City on this occa- 
sion. Mrs. Esther Reed, the wife of General Joseph Reed, though feeble in health 
and surrounded by a numerous family, entered with hearty zeal into the service, and 
was by the united voice of her associates placed at the head of the Society. Mrs. 
Sarah Bache, daughter of Dr. Franklin, was also a conspicuous actor in the forma- 
tion of the association and in carrying out its plans. All classes in the city became 
interested and the results were glorious. All ranks of society seemed to have joined 
in the liberal effort, from Phillis, the colored woman, with her seven shillings and 
six pence, to the Marchioness De Lafayette, whose husband contributed in her name 
one hundred guineas in specie, and the Countess de Luzerne, who gave six thousand 
dollars in Continental paper. Those who had no money to contribute gave the la- 
bor of their hands in plying the needle ; and in almost every house the work went 
on. It was charity in its genuine form, and from its purest source — the voluntary 
outpourings of the heart. It was not stimulated by the excitements of our day — 
neither fancy fairs nor bazars had anything to do with it. It was not pleasure and 
conspicuity that they sought, but the comfort of the suffering patriots in the winter 
huts scantily fed and clothed, who appealed to their noble and tender hearts ; and 
they met, counselled, acted and brought them relief. The American women work- 
ing for the comfort of a starving American patriot army was a noble exhibition of 
patriotic kindness. That army needed relief and they provided and brought it. They 
went out and solicited money and other necessaries from door to door, stating what 
it was for, and carried it to the army directly as the result of their activity. They 
had in the first instance given their trinkets and jewelry and wrought with llieir 
needles, and when the need was more pressing they claiimed from the public what 
they themselves were unable to supply. 

The Marquis De Chastellax, who was in Philadelphia while this work was in 
progress, was delighted with the noble spirit excited by it. In describing a visit to 
several of the ladies, he says : 

" We began by Mrs. Bache. She merits all the anxiety we had to see her, for 
she is the daughter of Dr. Franklin, Simple in her manners, like her respectable 
father, she possesses his benevolence. She conducted us into a roonr filled with 
work, lately finished by the ladies of Philadelphia. This work consisted neither of 
embroidered tambour waistcoats, nor net work ef^gings, nor of gold and silver bro- 
cade — it was a quantity of shirts for the soldiers of Pennsylvania. The ladies bought 
the linen from their own private purses and took pleasure in cutting them out and 
sewing them themselves. On each shirt was the muie of the married or unmarried 
lady who made it, and they amounted to 2,200." 



94 

The result of this sympathy and industry was great and very timely. The ag- 
gregate amount of the contributions in the city and county of Philadeiphia was 
$9,500 in specie value, added to this was a princely donation from Robert Morris, of 
a ship fully laded with military stores and clothing which bad just arrived. 

It went further. The ladies of almost all the populous towns emulated the 
kindness of their sisters in Philadelphia. We are most interested in what was done 
in our own native State, and we give a reminiscence of the patriotism of the ladies 
of Trenton. We record it with great pleasure as another proof of the important 
influence which our dear wives and daughters always give in trying times, of their 
tender hearts and their devotion to the right. 

It consists of an article printed in the New Jersey Gazette at Trenton, July 5, 
1780, to the following effect, showing that all the kindness exhibited for the suffering 
soldiers was not confined to Philadelphia and Ptnnsylvania, but New Jersey seconded 
the eflForts of the ladies of Pennsylvania with all their might : 

" The ladies of Trenton, New Jersey, emulating the noble example of their 
patriotic sisters of Pennsylvania, and being desirous of manifesting their zeal in the 
cause of American liberty, having this day assembled for the purpose of promoting 
a subscription for the relief and encouragement of those brave men in the conti- 
nental army, who, stimulated by example and regardless ot danger, have^o repeat- 
edly suffered, fought and bled in the cause of virtue and t»heir oppressed country, 
and taking into consideration the scattered situation of the well disposed throughout 
the State, who would wish to contribute to so laudable an undertaking, have, for the 
purpose of the convenience of such, and the more effectually to carry their scheme 
into execution, unanimously appointed Mrs. Cox, Mrs. Dickonson, Mrs. Formau, 
and Miss Cadwallader a committee, whose duty it shall be immediately to open a 
subscription and correspond with the ladies hereinafter named of tbe different 
counties throughout the State, requesting their aid and influence in the several dis- 
tricts ; and in order the more expeditiously to carry the scheme into execution, the 
ladies now met, have taken the liberty to solicit the interest of the following ladies 
in promoting said subscription, viz : For the County of Hunterdon, Mrs Vice Presi- 
dent Stevens, Mrs. Judge Smith, Mrs. Charles Cox, Mrs. R. Stevens, Mrs. Hanna, 
Mrs. Loweriey, Mrs. I. Sexton, Mrs. B Van Cleve, Mrs. Colonel Berry, Mrs. Dr. 
Barnes ; County of Sussex, Mrs. Counselor Ogden, Mrs. Colonel Thompson, Mrs. 
Major Hoops, Mrs. T. Anderson ; County of Bergen, Mrs. Colonel Dey, Mrs. Fell, 
Mrs. Kuyper, Mrs. Erskine, Mrs. Major Dey ; County of Morris, Mrs. Copnselor 
Condid. Mrs. Parsons Jones, Mrs. Colonel Remsen. Mrs. Van Zandt, Mrs. Car- 
michael, Mrs. Colonel Cook, Mrs. Judge Faesch ; County of Essex, Mrs. Governor 
Livingston, Mrs. C. Camp, Mrs. Dr. Burnet, Mrs. EHsha Boudinot, Mrs. Horn- 
blower ; County of Middlesex, Mrs Meilson, Mrs. Counselor Dean, Mrs. George 
Morgan, Mrs. Colonel Neilson, Mrs. Neils, Mrs. Daniel Marsh ; County of Mon- 
mouth. Mrs. General Forman. Mrs. Colonel Scudder, Mrs. Newell, Mrs. Peter For- 
man, Mrs. Jacob Wyckoff, Mrs. Peter Covenhoven ; County of Burlington, Mrs. 
Colonel Cox, Mrs. Counselor Tallman, Mrs. Colonel Borden, Mrs. Secretary Reed, 
Mrs. Captain Reed ; County of Somerset, Lady Sterling, Mrs. General Morris, Mrs. 
Colonel Martin, Mrs. Attornev General Patterson, Mrs. R. Stockton ; County of Glou- 
cester, Mrs. Colonel Clark, Mrs. Colonel Westcot, Mrs. Colonel Ellis, Mrs. Colonel 
Hugg, Mrs. Bloomfield ; County of Cumberland, Mrs. Counselor Buck, Mrs. Harris, 
Mrs. Elmer, Mrs. Bowen,Mrs. Frithian ; County of Cape May, Mrs. Counselor Hand, 
Mrs. Whilden, Mrs. Townsend, Mrs Heldreth, whose well known patriotism leaves 
no room to doubt of their exertions in the promotion of our undertaking, so humane 
and praiseworthy, and that they will be happy in forwarding the amount of their 
several collections, either with or without the names of the donors, which will imme- 
diately be transmitted by Mrs. Moore Forman who is hereby appointed Treasuress, 
to be disposed of by the CommanderinChief agreeably to the general plan. 

" As the ladies here would wish to expedite the good work as much as possible 
they have appointed Mrs. Dagworthy, of Trenton, their Secretary, who will receive 
and answer all letters that the ladies of the different counties may think proper to 
favor her with on the occasion, and to furnish them with proper subscription papers 
as soon as possible." 



0") 

We are not, therefore, able to say what were all the fruits of this movement. 
No record of it seems to have been made at the time, which has been transmitted to 
the future. It is, however, an understood tradition that large supplies were sent in, 
both in provisions and clothing as well as money, to relieve the pressing necessities 
of the army and encourage the men to remain steadfast in their efforts to free the 
country from its oppressors. Indeed, when has the sympathy of the female heart 
been appealed to in vain. The women of the Revolution were the noblest of their 
sex, and the encouragement which they gave, on prominent occasions and in all 
proper ways, had no small share in sustaining the patriotism of their husbands and 
brothers in the dark hours of the protracted contest. Many instances are remem- 
bered when it displayed itself in beautiful firmness or in tenderest sympathy, and 
the history of those times will not be written until these things find a pen to record 
them. There were many as noble and devoted women as ]\Irs. Reed and Mrs. Bache 
in the other States of the Union, and it has been a real pleasure to rescue from an 
obscure place the action of the ladies of New Jersey, and give it at least a temporary 
resuscitation in these reminiscences of our Revolution. It is a valuable record in 
many ways. It presents to us the names of ladies who were prominent in their day 
and who wielded an influence from which good was expected, and we are glad to 
know them. 



No. XXVIII.-WASHINGTON IN SOCIAL LIFE. 



WHEN the Pennsylvania troops revolted on the 21st of June, 1783, the Congress 
was in session at Trenton, and the disaffected men, three hundred in number, 
marched thither, surrounded the State House, placed guards at the door, and 
demanded a redress of their grievances, within the space of twentj' minutes, at the 
peril of having an enraged soldiery let in upon them. But Congress was firm in 
the pressing emergency, refused to act under restraint, declared that they had been 
grossly insulted and adjourned to meet in Princeton. 

On the 26th, after the mutiny had been quelled, they reassembled there, hold- 
ing their sessions in the College buildings. Thither Washington was summoned 
from Newburgh to consult with them on important matters relative to the close of 
the war. Leaving General Knox in command of the army, he repaired to New Jer 
sey, in obedience to his request, accompanied by Mrs. Washington and a part of his 
military family. He fixed his quarters at Rocky Hill, in a house on the east side of 
the Millstone river, about one eighth of a mile from the present village, then the 
residcEce of Judge Berrian, built and inhabited by John Harrison, one of the owners 
of a large part of Franklin township, who erected the first mill in Rocky Hill. Here 
he remained until November, when he returned to Newburgh, preparatory to the 
entering of the army into the city of New York after its final evacuation by the 
British troops, on the 25th of November, 1783. 

While residing in this house Washington was in the habit of riding in company 
with some of his aids into Princeton almost every morning for the purpose of con- 
ference with Congress on the many new and important questions which pressed for 
a solution in the existing emergencies ; and as he had always after such conference 
the leisure of the whole day to dispose of, he indulged himself in social intercourse 
with the different families residing in the village and its vicinity. Among these was 
that of Mr. John Van Horn, a wealthy and intelligent farmer living near his quarters 
at Rocky Hill. 

Washington, frequently after his morning ride, called on Mrs. Van Horn and 
spent an hour in conversation with her and the ladies of the family. He delighted 
in this way to unbend himself from the dignity of commander in chief, and give 
play to his social spirit ; and it is sufiBciently attested, that grave as he was in public 
life, there could be no more fascinating gentleman in the social circle than he, on 
such occasions, showed himself to be. 

On one of the mornings when he called on Mrs. Van Horn, a ludicrous incident 
occurred, the description of which has been preserved by Dunlap, the painter, in 
his " Reminiscences of Washington." He was a mere youth at the time and had 
taken board for a few weeks at Mrs. Van Horn's at Rocky Hill. His object in visit- 
ing Princeton was to take the portraits of some of the members of Congress, and 
he found the farmer's house and table most appropriate and convenient both to his 
means and to the leisure which he required in order to be better able to secure the 
needed progress in his work. We shall now let him tell in his own words, because 
no others could more graphically describe the scene. It throws at least a new gleam 
of light upon the character of the man in whom all feel so deep an interest, but 



97 

who is not fully and familiarly known, even by those who have been most careful 
in studying the numerous biographies which have been written of him. Circum- 
stances not infrequently reveal us to ourselves, aud they do so also to others. Wash- 
ingtoa at Van Horn's is a new revelation of the hero aud the sage. Let us hear 
Duiilap : 

" Before I left Princeton for Rocky Hill I saw for the first time the man of whom 
all men spoke — whom all wished to see. It was accidental. It was a picture. No 
painter could have grouped a company of military men better, or selected a back- 
ground better suited for the effect. As I walked on the road leading from Princeton 
to Trenton alone, for I ever loved solitary rambles, ascending a hill suddenly ap- 
peared a brilliaut troop of cavaliers, mounting and gaining the summit in my front. 
The clear autumnal sky behind them relieved the dark blue uniforms, the buff fac- 
ings and glittering military appendages. All were gallantly mounted— all were tall 
and graceful, but one towered above the rest, and I doubted not an instant that I 
saw the beloved hero. I lifted my hat as I saw that his eye was turned towards me, 
and instantly every hat was raised and every eye was fixed upon me. They passed 
on and I turned and gazed as at a passing vision. I had seen him. Although all 
through my life used to " the pride, pomp and circumstances of glorious war," to 
the gay and gallant Englismau, the tartared Scot, and the embroidered German of 
every military grade, I still think the old blue and buff of Washington and his aids, 
their cocked hats worn sidelong, with the union cockade, their whole equipment, as 
seen at that moment, was the most martial of anything I ever saw. 

" A few days after this incident I took up my abode at Mr. John Van Horn's by 
invitation, within a short distance of the headquarters of the commander-in-chief. 
He frequently called when returning from his ride and passed an hour with Mrs. 
Van Horn and the ladies of the family, or with the farmer if at home. I was, of 
course, introduced to him. I had brought with me materials for crayon painting 
and commenced the portrait of Mr. and Mrs. Van Horn ; these were admired far be- 
yond their merits and shown to all visitors. I had also with me a flute and some 
music books. One morning as I copied notes and tried them, the General and suite 
passed through the hall, and I heard him say 'the love of music and painting are 
frequently found united in the same person.' The remark is commonplace, but it 
was delightful to me at that time. 

" The assertion that this great man never laughed must have arisen from his 
habitual — perhaps his natural — reservedness. He had from early youth been conver- 
sant with public men and employed in public affairs, in affairs of life and death. 
He was not an austere man, either in appearance or manners, but was unaffectedly 
dignified and habitually polite. But I remember, during my opportunity of observ- 
ing his deportment, two instances of unrestrained laughter. The first and most 
moderate was at a ' bon mot,' or anecdote from Judge Peters, then a member of 
Congress and dining with the General; the second was on witnessing a scene in 
front of Mr Van Horn's house, which was, as I recollect it, sufficiently laugh pro- 
voking. Mr Van Horn was a man of uncommon size and strength, and bulky 
withal. His hospitable board required that day, as it often did, a roasting pig in 
addition to the many other substantial dishes, which a succession of guests, civil 
and military, put in requisition. 

" A black boy had been ordered to catch the young porker, and was in full but 
unavailing chase, when the master and myself arrived from a walk. 'Pooh, you 
awkward cur,' said the good natured yeoman, as he directed Cato or Plato (for all the 
slaves were heathen philosophers in those days), to exert his limbs, but all in vain, 
the pig did not choose to be cooked. ' Stand away,' said Van Horn, and throwing off 
his coat and hat, he undertook the chase, determined to run down the pig. His 
guests and his negroes stood laughing at his exertions, and the pig's manifold 
escapes. Shouts and laughter at length proclaimed the success of ' chasseur,' and 
while he held the pig up in triumph, the big drops coursing each other from fore- 
head to chin, over his mahogany face, glowing with the effects of exercise, amid the 
squealing of the victim, the stentorian voice of Van Horn was heard, ' I'll show you 
how to run down a pig,' and as he spoke he looked up in the face of Washington, 
who with his suite had trotted their horses into the court yard unheard amid the din 
of the chase and the shouts of triumphant success. The ludicrous expression of sur- 
prise at being so caught, with his attempts to speak to his heroic visitor, while the 
pig redoubled his efforts to escape by kicking and squeaking, produced as hearty a 
burst of laughter from the dignified Washington, as any that shook tlie sides of the 
most vulgar spectator of the scene." 



No. XXIX.-SOMERVILLE. 



There were at least three farm houses in this vicinity as early as 1683, yet it is not 
one of the oldest towns in the county. It was first known as Raritan,then the Court 
House. The present name when first proposed was not popular. It was considered 
to be too fine, or fanciful, and it took a long time to reconcile the popular mind to 
its use. 

Bound Brook, Millstone and Pluckamin are all older in point of time. In the 
times of the Revolution there were only two houses within the present limits of the 
village. One is now the eastern part of " Fritt's Hotel," (the Somerset), the other 
was the west end of what was long called the " Lower Tavern." Beside these the 
Tunison family lived in a house where John C. Garretsou, Esq., resided during his 
life time. There was also a house near the cemetery in which the Fulkerson's had 
lived at an earlier day, a house, part of which remains, where Colonel Southard 
once lived, the parsonage built by Rev. John Frelinghuysen in 1751 and 1752, a small 
stone house where Caleb Miller lived, which was removed and the present house 
built in 1777 or 1778 by William Wallace, and not yet finished in the winter of 1778 
and 1779, and a small house owned by Derrick Middagh, where John M. Mann 
formerly resided. A little later than the time we are speaking of a two story house 
was built by Peter Van Nest, where Dumont Frelinghuysen now resides, and was 
afterward occupied by Sheriff Hardenburgh. This house remained until 1834 or 
1835, when it was removed by Rev. Chas. Whitehead and the present mansion 
erected in its place. This is about what there was of Somerville when the Revolu- 
tion opened. After the destruction of the Court House at Millstone by Colonel Sim- 
coe, October 18, 1779, the seat of justice was removed to Somerville. In 1789 afiBda- 
vits in the Orphans' Court were taken by Frederick Frelinghusen as Surrogate at 
Millstone. In June, 1794, there was a Court of Common Pleas sitting at Bridge- 
water, the Judges being, Robert Stockton, Robert Blair, Nicholas Duboise, John 
Stryker and Archibald Mercer. The removal must have taken place between these 
two dates. 

At first the courts were held in a small building which had stood on Mount 
Pleasant and had been known as the court martial house, and after its removal stood 
on the corner of Main and Grove streets. It was removed and fitted up at the joint 
expense of the Freeholders and the Consistory of the Church at Raritan. The deed 
for this property is in the possession of the clerk of the Board of Chosen Freeholders. 
After being abandoned by both the county and the church it was removed to the 
present site of the brick store in which Doctor Rappleye is now engaged in the mer- 
cantile business, and fitted up as a store house. In it for many years Mr. Latourette 
and svlbsequently William J. Hedges transacted mercantile business. It was finally 
taken away and the present building owned by William C. Veghte erected in its 
place. 

The road through Somerville crossed the brook about half way between the pre- 
sent iron bridge and the Central Railroad of New Jersey bridge and entered the 



99 

present street nearly where Leonard Bunn's shop was located, thence it passed near 
the front of the Brick Church, and onwards where S. S. Hartwell's office stood, back 
of all the houses in the Main street and coming into it again where John White- 
nack's carriage shop stands at present. [This shop has just been demolished to 
make room for a new building for Ballantine & Stillwell.— Ed.] The laying of the 
turnpike in 1807 or 1808 was the occasion of its being changed to its present 
course. 

Precisely where the road from Pluckamin united with the Raritan road, we are 
not able to say, probably at the juuction of Main and Grove streets. Along this road, 
from the old bridge up to Pluckamin, Washington's army marched on their way to 
Pluckamin after the battle at Princeton, weary, worn out and almost starving. It 
was probably the largest military corps that Somerville has ever witnessed, but we 
anticipate there was no Somerville at that time. 

Precisely when the village received its present name is not known. The oldest 
documentary evidence dates July 18, 1801. After the Revolution the extreme ad- 
miration for everything French excited by the aid extended our struggling colonies 
in their efforts for independence made it almost a necessity to have a " ville " at- 
tached to the name of every town, however insignificant, and so the county seat of 
Somerset came naturally to be called Somerville. 

We have heard the late William Mann claim the paternity of the name in con- 
nection with the establishment of a Post Office, he being the first postmaster, and 
the office kept in his bar, the whole business amounting to some dozen letters a 
week. The first thing that really ensured its prosperity and growth, was the fact 
that in 1778 the Raritan congregation determined to build their church here. They 
had been without a suitable distinctive place to hold religious services in ever since 
November 18, 1779. Perhaps it was perpetrated by the circumstances that for some 
time their services had been held in the small frame building called the Court House. 
It had been so long deferred because the Revolutionary war left everyone poor in 
money at least, but now they were encouraged and determined to build a respectable 
house, 40 feet by 60, of brick, surmounted by a cupalo with a bell. It was the first 
church in the county pretending to anything like the same elegance and expensive- 
ness. 

Ten years more elapsed and the Freeholders of the County determined to erect 
a respectable Court House. The motion created great division of sentiment on the 
part of the inhabitants of the north and south side of the river. Meetings were held, 
discussions' had, advice asked, but decisions coulci not be reached. The Board of 
Freeholders was equally divided. At length one of the members of Hillsborough 
decided the question by voting in favor of Somerville, and the work was undertaken 
and finished The walls of this house still stand, and although many alterations 
have been made internally, and some additions externally, the building remains es- 
sentially the same as it was in the beginning. It has become one of the old land- 
marks of the old village. 

Before the Court House, there had been erected a building at the lower end of 
the village connected with a tan yard. It was occupied once by Samuel Hall, and 
directly opposite to it, in early days, there was a small house in which Josiah Bryan 
resided. 

Nearly cotemporary with the building of the Court House, was the erection of 
the house opposite to it, by Mr. Isaac Davis, and afterwards occupied bj- Jacob R. 
Hardenburgh, Esq., as a store. Daniel Latourette lived in it, and then for many 
years William J. Hedges. The lot extended from the west line of Judge Van Der- 

LofC. 



100 

veer's property, to the road leading to the covered bridge. The barn, which was 
large, was finally converted into a house, and now forms a part of the County Hotel. 
This change was the work of Mr. Latourette, and was eflfected about 1805 or 1806. 

In the meantime Job Van Arsdale bought a lot and erected a small two story 
house on the corner where S. S. Hartwell's residence stood. He was a blacksmith, 
and had a shop a little further west and next to it Abel Stewart built a small house. 
This house was subsequently enlarged and converted into a hotel, first kept by Mel 
drum, and afterwards by Daniel Sergeant. In this house the first meeting in refer- 
ence to the formation of the Somerset County Bible Society convened October i, 
1816. The meeting was organized by appointing Peter B. Dumont, Chairman, and 
John Frelinghuysen, Secretary, and then formed a committee consisting of Rev. 
Peter Studdiford, Rev. John S. Vredeiburgh, Rev. Robert Finley, Rev. Peter 
Labaugh, with Messrs. John M. Bayard, John Frelinghuysen and Peter Elmendorf 
to draft a constitution and report at a subsequent time. The final meeting for 
adopting the constitution was held iu the church December loth, 1816, a Board of 
Managers was then appointed for the year, viz. : Bridgewater, Rev. Peter Studdiford 
and J. Frelinghuysen ; Hillsborough, Rev. J Zabriskie and Nichoias Dubois ; 
Franklin, Rev. Mr. Huntington and J. M. Bayard ; Montgomery, Rev. P. Labaugh 
and Samuel Bayard ; Bernards, Rev. Chas. Hardenburgh and Joseph Anniu ; Bed- 
minster, Rev. Horace Galpin and Nicholas Arrowsmith ; Warren, Alexander Kirk- 
patrick and Frederick Vermeule. The Board was to serve until the third Tuesday 
in August, which had been fixed upon as the day for the first annual meeting of the 
society. In this unpretending way an organization was set in motion which has 
been as a fountain of life in Somerset county ever since. The little hotel perished 
in the flames some time afterwards, but the action will give its memory so much 
interest as to keep it bright in many coming years. 

The academy was built in the summer of 1802, and about the same time Isaac 
Vactor, a tailor, built a small house nearly opposite to it, in which he resided for 
several years. Perhaps a year or two anterior to this, a house in which Philip Tunison 
lives, was built. He was sexton of the church, and his widow lived there for a long 
time. It was removed for the purpose of opening a street only very recently. The 
Davenport house, in which Dr. Vredenburgh resided, was cotemporary, or nearly 
so, with the last mentioned. Then, next in point of time, came the Rulofson house, 
once the upper tavern, the Van Natta house, the George Van Nest house, forming a 
part of the large house second below Fritts' hotel. There was also at the same 
time a small house converted into a store and belonging since to Henry Cook, iu 
which Richard Compton and his wife lived. She was known as " Aunt Yauney,'' 
and kept ginger cake and spruce beer. Here the young gentlemen of that day 
escorted their lady loves on Sunday, during "intermission," to regale them with 
her savory stores. It was a noted place, and " Aunt Yauney " was a noted woman. 
In all the surrounding community none was more so in her day. 

Cotemporary with the days of which we are now writing is the Stewart House, 
built on South street, in which his widow and family resided. It is now owned by 
T. I. Hcneyman, formerly Mr. Onderdonk. Samuel Brant built a shop about the 
same time next below George Van Neste's house and manufactured chairs. He was 
a brother of Mrs. Stewart, and a long time resident of Somerville. In 1809 Peter 
B. Dumont built a house opposite the Somerset House, now owned and occupied by 
Van Fleet, and George McDonald erected the house next above it, in which Gov- 
ernor Vroom resided many years and subsequently John M. Maun lived and died 
there. Now owned and occupied by John Phillips. 



101 

Then next in point of time CRine the store and dwelling of C. G. Tunison, now 
Doctor Wagoner's property, and Sonierville began really to be worthy of its name. 
Those who are living can write the remaining history of its growth. In 1S07 was 
completed an enterprise which in that day was a grand effort for the few who com- 
posed the inhabitants of our village. Water was brought in perforated pine logs 
from the mountain north of the town, and a fine stream could be seen constantly 
gushing out from a pen stock near the Somerset House, then kept by William Mann, 
sparkling as bright and as pure as its mountain source. Unfortunately the weight 
of the column introduced through the logs was too much for their adhesive proper- 
ties, and a break was the consequence. The breaks soon became so frequent that 
the logs were abandoned and clay pipes imported from Europe tried without success. 

Half the effort made in that early day by a few enterprising men would now be 
enough to remedy the deficiency. It is wonderful how content men can become 
under a nuisance when they are accustomed to it. 

In 1809, John Davenport, who owned one hundred acres of land fronting on the 
Main street in Somerville, had it divided and mapped off in lots and streets in the 
form of a village, and disposed of the whole in the form of a lottery. Every ticket 
costing thirty dollars was assured to draw a prize, and fortunate ones might become 
entitled to the house in Somerville, or to one of the lots fronting on the Main street. 
Most of the tickets were sold in New York, and the land itself was thrown out and 
became a village common, and is known as the "Lottery Field."* It has in late 
years been appropriated principally by the colored population. It was a fine specu- 
lation in its day, but the effect of it has by no means tended to increase the pros- 
perity of Somerville, 

With these notes of "The First Things," in our beautiful village, we dismiss 
the subject and hand it over for completion to those who may come after us. Our 
purpose is only to put on record such things as are in danger of being lost, for the 
information of some who may undertake to write the history of our county as it 
ought to be written. 

* Very few of the successful drawers occupied or claimed their lots, and in the Seventies a suit 
was brought in Chancery bj' Hugh M. Gaston, Esquire, (or the inhabitants of Somerville and a deci- 
sion rendered in their favor, and the old Lottery Field has become a source of revenue in the sale of 
lots, and the receipts therefore have been used for permanent improvements in building streets, 
sewers, etc. 



No. XXX.-THE ACADEMY. 



ANY account of Somerville would be incomplete that did not embrace a notice 
of its Academy. In the early history of the village it was a prominent feature. 
The idea of erecting such a building and attempting to maintain a classical 
school in which young men could be fitted for college at such an early day, was an 
honor to the inhabitants of the village. 

It came about in this wise : A number of gentlemen from Somerville and its 
vicinity met together to celebrate the Fourth of July, 1801. Some suitable prepara- 
tions had been made to give interest to the occasion. The public exercises of the 
day were held in the church. Two young boys, one a son of J. R. Hardenburgh, 
Esq., and the other a son Colonel Peter D. Vroom, made each an oration ; one upon 
the discovery of America, the other on the death of George Washington. These juve- 
nile orators afterwards became conspicuous citizens of the county of Somerset. One 
was Cornelius L. Hardenburgh, of New Brunswick ; the other Peter D. Vroom, 
Governor of this State, and Envoy Extraordinary and Embassador to the Kingdom 
of Prussia 

After the exercises in the church the gentlemen repaired to the hotel, where a 
dinner had been prepared. Among them were several who had sons to be educated. 
After a free conversation on the subject of education, it was resolved to make an ef- 
fort to establish a classical school, where young men might be instructed in Latin 
and Greek, and prepared to enter college. Immediate action was taken, and on 
the eighteenth of July, at another meeting, a constitution was adopted, which pro- 
vided for the erection of a building and the organization of an association aiding in 
its support and patronage. The preamble recites that " whereas, an attempt 
made by the inhabitants of Somerville and vicinity, to raise by subscription in 
shares of ten dollars each, a sum sufiBcient to erect a suitable building for a classical 
school, had succeeded so far as to warrant the commencement of such building ; 
that, therefore, it had become necessary to form a constitution for the government 
of the said association. The first article fixes its name as 'The Proprietors of the 
Academy of Somerville,' and defines it as an institution expressly set apart for the 
instruction of youth in the learned languages, the English, the arts and sciences, 
and public speaking ;" each proprietor to be entitled to one vote for each share of 
ten dollars. After the usual oflBcers necessary for such an association had been pro- 
vided for, the annual meeting was fixed for the first day of April. The instrument 
was signed by Peter Studdiford, John Brjan, John Frelinghuysen, Andrew Howell, 
Jonathan Ford Morris, Thomas Talmage, John Elmet-dorf, Jacob R. Hardenburgh, 
John Simouson, John W. Hall, Joseph Doty, Dickinson Miller, Cornelius Van De- 
venter, Brogun Brokaw, Edmund Elmendorf, John Brokaw, John Cox, Garret 
-^JiiTsou, Philip Herder, Roeluf Nevius, Peter S. Dumont and Matthew A. Lane. 
The subscriptions amounted to $1,701. Besides the persons who subscribed to the 
Constitution, there were present at this first meeting John Wortman, James Van 
Derveer, John Meldrum, Israel Harris, Richard McDonald, John Whitenack, Joseph 
Annin, William McEowan, Andrew Coejuian and Johannes Van Neste. 



i(i:5 

The officers of the association who were first elected were Peter Studdiford, 
President ; John Bryan, Vice President ; John Frelinghuysen, Treasurer, and 
Andrew Howell, Secretary. The Board of Regents consisted of Jonathan F. Morris, 
John Wortman, Thomas Talmage, John S. Vredenburgh, Jacob R. Hardenburgh, 
John Elmendorf, Dickinson Miller, John Simousou, Garret Tunison and the Presi- 
dent. 

At an adjourned meeting on the fourteenth of December ensuing, Messrs. Stud- 
diford, Vredenburgh and Hardenburgh were appointed a committee to contract for 
the erection of a suitable building for the contemplated school. The price of tuition 
in the Latin and Greek languages was fixed at four dollars per quarter, and the 
committee were authorized to cfTer fifty dollars in addition to the tuition fees, to 
procure a suitable teacher to open the school. 

On the first of March, 1802, at a meeting of the association, the accounts were 
referred to a committee consisting of Andrew Howell, Thomas Talmage and John 
Elmendorf, and an order made to have the house lathed and plastered and the wood 
work painted ; also to erect suitable forms and benches. The accounts were to be 
submitted to another meeting on the second Monday in April. This meeting was 
convened, officers appointed, and the exercises in the school commenced almost 
immediately. The teacher employed, we learn, was Lucas George, an Irishman, 
who proved himself to be a fine scholar and an efficient instructor. The academy 
then went into operation in May or June of 1802. 

Lucas George remained at its head for some four years, and the Regents then 
raised the price of tuition to five dollars per quarter instead of four. 

In 1804 the incorporation of the association was effected under the laws of the 
State, and a general satisfactory progress was made in all the affairs of the school. 
Mr. George resigned at the close of 1804, and in March, 1805, Jacob Kirkpatrick 
was engaged as principal at the rate of $182 per half year. Then W. C. Morris, a 
son of Dr. J. F. Morris, taught for a time. Then on November 26th, 1808, Stephen 
Boyer was engaged as principal. He was still principal in 1810. Afterwards Isaac 
N. Wyckoff and Rev. John Cornell taught, and the school had flourished exten 
sively. 

It had no rival except Basking Ridge, and enjoyed an extensive patronage for 
some time. Somerville, in that day, was a point to which many eyes were directed, 
and it was a power in the State. It had in it. and around it, a number of citizens of 
large influence and commanding force of character. 

After the days when Rev. John Cornell had charge of the school. Rev. Peter 
Studdiford taught it, then Mr. Nevil, then JoLn Walsh, then William Thompson, 
then Charles Hageman, then William D. Waterman and John L. See. Ultimately 
other views began to be entertained by many of the citizens of the village ; other 
wants grew up. Young men began to look more to business than a college diploma 
and the importance of the English department overtopped the classical in public 
estimation. The building itself grew to be too contracted for the number of pupils 
desiring instruction, and the enlarged views of education prevalent in the com- 
mnnity pointed to another school. The following minute records the mode in 
which it was abolished : 

Whereas, on the 16th day of April, 1804, the origiuHl Constitution of said 
Association was by the stockholders thereof altered and amended as follows, to 
wit : 

" If it should so happen that a sufficient sum arising from the tuition of students 
in the said institution, and from voluntary subscription, shall not be procured sue- 



104 

cessively so as to enable the trustees to procure a teacher of competent abilities for 
iustructiqn in the dead languages, it shall in such case be the duty of the trustees 
for the time being, to dispose of the property belong to the Association by way of 
public vendue to the highest bidder and for the best price that can be procured for 
the same, and the net proceeds arising from such sale shall be divided by the num- 
ber of shares subscribed. The product thence arising shall be the same each sub- 
scriber shall be entitled to receive for each and every share bj' him or her subscribed. 
And it shall also be the duty of the said trustees to give public notice in a news- 
paper printed at New Brunswick, in one of the newspapers printed at Trenton, and 
also in one of the newspapers printed in the city of New York, for the space of one 
month, what may be the dividend each share is entitled to receive, and requesting 
the proprietors to call for the same in six months from the date, or it will be con- 
sidered a donation, and appropriated to the founding of an English school in the 
neighborhood of Somerville. " 

And Whereas, the Trustees of said Association have been unable to obtain and 
procure a suflBcient sum from the tuition of students in the said institution, and from 
voluntary subscriptions, so as to enable them to procure a teacher of competent 
abilities for instruction in the dead languages, for any part or portion of the period 
of four full years next before this time ; therefore, 

Resolved, That the said property belonging to the said Association be sold and 
the proceeds be disposed of pursuant to the power and direction contained in the 
said article of Association. 

ABRAHAM MESSLER, President. 
WM. HEDGES, 
THOMAS A. HARTWELL, 
WM. B. GASTON, 

Trustees. 

At a meeting of the Trustees, at the office of S. S. Hartwell, December 4, 1855, 
it was, on motion 

Resolved, That the resolution of the Board of Trustees on the 5th day of Sep- 
tember, 1855, be confirmed and carried out in all things, and that the real estate of 
the academy lot be disposed of at public sale, at the house of Jacob A. Fritts, inn 
keeper, in Somerville, on Tuesday, the 19th day of February next, between the 
hours of two and five p. m., and that the same be advertised according to law. 

In conformity with these resolutions, a decree in Chancery was obtained direct- 
ing the sale of the property and the division of the money among the original 
stockholders and their heirs, and after due notice the house and lot was sold to S. 
S. Hartwell. 



No. XXXL— BOUND BROOK. 



THE earliest settlements in the county of Somerset, especially according to its 
ancient divisions, were made in the village of Bound Brook and its viciaity. 
The oldest land title, dated May 4, 16S1, in this portion of the State, secured 
at once all the land on which the village now stands. It recites, " that Konackama 
and Oueromak, two Indian kings, for the consideration of 100 pounds paid them in 
goods, at the foot of the same deed acknowledged by thera to have been received 
of Captain Philip Carteret, Governor of New Jersey, John Palmer, a Staten Island 
gentleman, Gabriel Minvielle, Thomas Codrington, John White, John Delavelle, 
Richard Hall and John Royce, of the city of New York, did sell to them and their 
heirs, a tract of land on the north side of the Raritan river, beginning at the mouth 
of the rivulet called Bound Brook, and by the Indians Sacunk, and thence up along 
the river Raritan to a brook called Raweighweros ; and from thence north to a 
stony hill ; thence easterly to Metapes' wigwam ; and thence southerly along the 
Bound Brook aforesaid to the beginning ; as might more plainly appear by the trees 
marked by the grantors, and by the Indian deed recorded in Liber i, page 146." 
Out of this tract the proprietors took 1,170 acres, embracing the sight of the village, 
and after being surveyed by Philip Wells, surveyor, September 25th, 1683, it was 
patented to Thomas Rudyard, an eminent lawyer of London, who, on the first of 
May, 16S6, secured also another grant of 1,500 acres on Rahway river. 

Ttie only one of the proprietors under the above Indian grant who actually 
settled on any part of it, was Thomas Codrington. He had 877 acres apportioned 
to him September 25th, 1683, and built a house upon it soon after and called his 
place Racawackhanua. He also owned 1,000 acres more, lying in the rear of his 
far J], running up to the apex of the mountain. 

Thomas Codrington was living at Racawackhanua on the 26th of November, 
1684, and was at that date appointed one of Governor Barclay's council. He was a 
man of influence in his time, and received the same appointment from Lord Neil 
Campbell, October 18, 1686, and again from Governor Bass, May 6, 1698. The 
place was owned about the commencement of the present century by Alexander 
Campbell, and more recently by Dan Talmage ; now owned by George La Monte. 

Thomas Rudyard, who owned the land upon which the village now stands, was 
one of the twenty-four proprietors, to whom the Duke of York confirmed JNIarch 
14, 1682, the previous sale of the Province of East New Jersey, by giving them a 
new grant. Under this grant Robert Barclay was appointed governor for life, Sep- 
tember 16, 1682, with permission not to reside in the Province, and Thomas Rud- 
yard became his deputy. He arrived in the Province November 13th of the same 
year, having with him as surveyor General Samuel Groome, also one of the Propri- 
etors. Rudyard was superceded in 16S5 and went to Jamaica, West Indies. He 
resided at Perth Amboy and had with him two of his daughters, ladies of education 
and culture, named Anne and Margaret. They were great prizes in such a land, 
and were soon " wco'd and won " by two gentlemen from New York city. Anne 



106 

married John West ; Margaret became the wife of Samuel Winder, and resided on 
a plantation near Middletown, in Monmouth county, called Cheesequakes. The 
Episcopal Church at Perth Amboy is even at this day enjoying the fruits of her 
liberality. It does not appear probable that Thomas Rudyard ever resided in Bound 
Brook, nor even that he ever visited it. 

As early as 1700, or before that time, the lands of Rudyard, with 877 acres adjoin- 
ing it, belonging to John Royce, were purchased by a company consisting of George 
Cussart, Samuel Thompson and Jacob DeGroot. Rudyard's original 1,170 acres was 
divided between Thompson and DeGroot equally, but the Royce land was held in 
company. There is no authentic record of their having sold any part of this land 
previous to 1720. The highway through Bound Brook was laid out by this company 
and was known as the " Great Raritan Road," previous to which the travel had been 
on the banks of the river near the water. The Thompson residence, built at an early 
day, stood on the road just where the railroad now crosses it, and was purchased by 
the company and demolished to form their roadway. This property was conveyed 
first to Thomas Clawson, then to William Wortman, then to David McKinney, then 
to Michael Shorley, and then March 27, 1786, to Clarkson Freeman, M. D. 

On the Royce plot, lived as early as 1720, John Anderson, whose residence was 
just south of the lane leading to the late Thomas Codrington residence, and on the 
east side, some remains of this house are still standing. Then Israel Brown built a 
house where Peter Brown now resides ; then next, Joseph Bonney lived in the Rock- 
afellar house, recently purchas'd by Charles Howell Cook. The rear part of this 
building is the old Bonney homestead. Then next was the residence of Garret 
Van Wagener, M. D., next below Bouney's on the opposite side, and then Daniel 
Van Corts, where A. Cammann at present resides. These were the first houses in 
Bound Brook. 

On the Codrington plot was the house of William Harris, who built the Middle- 
brook Hotel, now owned and kept by Louisa Fisher. It continued in possession 
of the Harris family as late as 1815, when Israel Harris, Sheriff of Somerset county, 
was its landlord. On the same plot resided Thomas McElroth, in the house where 
Stephen Brown lived. 

The Codrington homestead, " Racawackhanaa," was owned in 1700 by Aaron 
Lazarder ; then about 1720 by his son Moses L,azarder; then by his son David 
Lazarder ; afterwards by Michael Van Tyle, Alexander Campbell and Samuel Swan, 
M. D., Daniel Talmage, Mr. George LaMonte, 

Jacob DeGroot's land, including 1,023 acres, extended to the mountain, and the 
old house, in which Jacob DeGroot, a grandson lived, and died there July 22, 1843, 
aged 94 years, was burned to the ground. 

George Cussart's house is now the Bound Brook hotel. He sold three hundred 
acres to Ebenezer Trimbly, which was inherited by his son Peter, who died May 20, 
1797, and left it to his two daughters, one of wtiom married Tunis Ten Eyck, and 
the other Colonel John Staats. 

In the year 1700, the 1,171 acres of the original proprietors were purchased as 
we have said by George Cussart and Jacob DeGroot. In 1720, Ebenezer Trimbly, 
Hendrick Harpending, Cornelius Prant, Hendrick Usher, William Riddle and John 
R. Meyers, had become purchasers of parts of this original tract, and subsequently, 
in 1746, Peter Williamson, James Hnde, Esq , Anthony Blackford, Bartholomew 
Kelso, Charles McEvera, Thomas Ervine, Joseph Stansberry, David Cussart, Tobias 
Van Norden, Thomas Cooper and John DeGroot occupied parts and parcels belong- 
ing to it ; the particulars cannot be more minutely specified. 



107 

In the days succeeding the revolution there were three public houses of enter- 
tainment kept in Bound Brook, viz.: The Middlebrook Hotel kept by Israel Harris, 
the Frelinghuysen house. It swung out a great sign containing a portrait of Major 
General Frelinghuysen, and was kept by Peter Harp^uding, son of Hendrick Har- 
pending, a cord-wainer from Lingery, Holland ; and thirdly, the Washington Hotel 
At this house Colonel Simcoe halted on his way to Van Ve^-hten's bridge and Mill- 
stone. 

John Campbell's house built as early as 1685, on the banks of the Rarilan, has 
long since disappeared. It was a mansion of some pretensions in its day, and served. 
to shield an uafortuaate exile from turbulent Scotia, duriag many a lonely year. His 
descendants are yet among the citizens of Bound Brook. 

Major General Benjamin Lincoln had his quarters at the house standing at the 
east end of the village. It was for a long time the only house having two stories 
which Bound Brook could boast. It is now occupied by Essex Yawger 

It was inhabited at the time by Peter Williamson. General Lincoln himself, 
when giving an account of his retreat from this place, uses the following language : 
" Being stationed at Bound Brook on the Raritan, he had an extent of iive or six 
miles to guard, with a force of less less than 500 men fit for duty. On the 13th of 
April, 1777, owing to the negligence of his patrol, he was surprised by a large party 
of the enemy under Cornwallis and Grant, who came upon him so suddenly that 
the general and one of his aides had barely time to get on horseback ; the other 
aide was taken, as were also a few pieces of artillery." 

Near this house a block house or fortification had been erected commanding the 
crossing over Bound Brook creek, connected with an earth work reaching to the 
bank of the river. 

It stood on the grounds occupied at present by the old shop which Mrs. Jane 
Giles owned. When General Lincoln retreated, the inhabitants all fled to the 
mountain, leaving a dead soldier's corpse in the block house, as the only occu- 
pant of the village. It would be possible to detail a great variety of reminiscences 
of family and personal history belonging to these times, but properly they are not 
history and do not belong to our subject. 

The first school house in Bound Brook stood a little west of the Presbyterian 
Church. Its site was included in the old church grounds. It was a low one story 
building, and used also as a meeting house by the early settlers. The first teacher 
was called John Wackner. His name occurs as early as 1742. When he came, and 
when he retired from his position, are things not Inown. He was succeeded by 
William Hedden, who resided in a small house standing on the site of the lecture 
rcomofDr. Rodgers' church. Hedden sold this property to Thomas Coon, who 
again sold it to Ambrose Cooke, M. D. The house was subsequently removed to the 
rearof the lot, and forms at present a part of the carriage house of B. B. Matthews. 
Hedden continued to act as principal of this school until 1768, when be removed to 
Newark. 

He was succeeded by Peter Walsh, a Scotchman, who continued to leach in 
the same building, until the erection of the building known as "the acad- 
emy." This house, like others, has been demolished and has made room for the 
present structure. It w as a respectable building of two stoiies, with a small cupola ; 
and the old bell of Kell's Hall rang the children to their morning and afternoon 
exercises. It was built in the year i8co, in part from money bequeathed lor that 
purpose by Michael Field. The object of the bequest is conveyed in the words of 
his will, " I give the sum of 5C0 pounds, lawful money of the State of New Jersey, 



108 

towards a free school, that may be erected hereafter within the congregation of 
Bound Brook, which my executors are hereby required to put into the hands of the 
trustees of the congregation aforesaid, and the trustees are required to put the same 
at interest, and to keep the interest money arising therefrom in their custody and 
possession, until said ' Free School House ' shall be built, and then apply the said 
interest money for that purpose, and supporting said school, and for no other 
uses." This was done on October 14, 1791, and Mr. Field died on the 13th of Jan- 
uary, 1792, aged 97 years. Peter Walsh was the first teacher employed after the 
academy was built, and was succeeded by Isaac Toucy, President Buchanan's Secre- 
tary of the Navy. During the period in which Mr. Toucy was in charge, a female 
department was in existence on the second floor, under the supervision and instruc- 
tion of Miss Joannah Deeds. This venerable structure, so long a land mark in the 
village, was finally demolished in 1865, and succeeded by the present building. 

Religious services were commenced in Bound Brook, as early as 1700, and re- 
sulted in the formation of a Presbyterian Church, which has been among the most 
respectable and intelligent congregations in the State, but as our piovince is not to 
write the ecclesiastical history of our county we forbear. We give, however, a single 
reminiscence. The Rev. James McCrea, the father of Jane McCrea, of Fort Ed- 
wards, was ordained by the Presbytery of New Brunswick, August 4, 1741, served 
the church at Bound Brook until 1749, when he was succeeded by Rev. Israel Reed. 
He was installed, March 8, 1750, and died November 28, 1793, aged 75 years. 

The story of Jane McCrea, as told by Lossing, who had it from a granddaughter 
of her friend, Mrs. McNeil, with whom she was staying at the time of her death, is 
a simple tale of love and misfortune, and her death an accident of the war of the 
revolution, not premeditated, even by the Indians, and resulting from the efforts 
made by her intended husband. Captain David Jones, of Burgoyne's army, to rescue 
her from the dangers by which she was surrounded. Her father was also for a time 
the minister of the Presbyterian Church at Lamington, and died a widower previous 
to the unfortunate death of Jane, his daughter, but when or where we are unable to 
say. It was, however, the occasion of her going to Fort Edward to reside with Mrs. 
McNeil. Jones was a neighbor of Mrs. McNeil's, and inclined to the side of the 
King. When the revolution opened he joined the party of the British and obtained 
the position of Captain in Burgoyne's army. He was so affected by the death of 
Jane McCrea that he left the army, went to Canada, and never saw Fort Edward 
again. 

In the time of the revolution the inhabitants of Bound Brock, were with a few 
exceptions, on the Patriot side, and suffered as much, if not really more than others, 
from the war. The army was quartered near them twice and during the military 
operations in Somerset county in 1776, they were for a time almost directly between 
the two armies, and exposed in every possible way to damage from both. 

Perhaps one of the most interesting incidents illustrating what we have said 
may be told in the following words : 

" While a part of Washington's army was stationed at Pluckamin, a company 
of British cavalry made a raid from New Brunswick through Bound Brook accom- 
panied by a number of 'Tories,' among them the noted Bill Stewart. On reaching 
the house of Benjamin Bonney, he took his little son Peres, then about four years of 
age, and secreted himself in the cellar of his house. Steward prowling around the 
house saw him sitting on the steps of the cellar and fired upon him while the child 
was upon his lap. The ball took effect in his left groin, just missing the child. 
Bonney died of his wound after the third day. This catastrophe occurred in what was 



109 

lately the Rockafellow house, now the property of Charles Howell Cook, and the 
room to which he was taken and in which he died, exists still in the rear of the 
building. From Bonney's residence they went to DeGroal's, broke open the cellar, 
consumed all the provisions, threatened and attempted to strike DeGroat with a 
sword, which his wife turned aside by seizing, but cut her hand badly. They then 
obliged him, by threatening his life, to swear allegiance to the King, and also com- 
mitted violence upon Archibald Van Norden. On their return, however, they were 
met below Bound Brook by Colonel John Staats, attacked so fiercely that they lost 
all their plunder and their prisoners escaped. Mischief had been done, life sacrificed 
and property destroyed, but any benefit to either of the contending parties it is dif- 
ficult to indicate." 

During the " troublesome times " the Sabbath worshipers in Bound Brook often 
came to church on Sunda}' armed, and their muskets could be seen at the end of 
their pews, or perhaps some leaned upon them when in the act of praying. They 
had faith in God, but, like Cromwell, believed also in keeping their powder dry, and 
in the safety of a good musket held firmly in hand as a defense from enemies. 

On the Sabbath day two services were attended before the people were dismissed. 
During the intermission of half an hour an old colored woman, remembered as 
" old Susanna," stood ready by the side of the church to refresh customers with 
ginger cake and spruce beer. The young gentlemen and their sweethearts were her 
best customers, and to spend sixpence in " treating the girls " was considered an act 
of noble generosity, if not really a little extravagant. How things do change. 

The prosperity of Bound Brook dates from 1830, when the Delaware and Rari- 
tan Canal was begun. Previous to this time it was as ragged a little town as one 
would wish to see. What the canal began, the railroad completed, and Bound 
Brook is now one of the most prosperous villages in the State. 

We append a note endeavoring to oflfer a meaning to the four Indian names 
associated rt'ith Bound Brook : 

1. Sacunk seems to be a compound of cisqua, muddy, and conk or tonk or tunk, 
a stream, a slow, sluggish stream, and so means the stream of mud, or stream flow- 
ing through the mud. 

2. Raca-hova-wallaby. Racca is a loomy piece of land, hogua, bent like a fish 
hook, wallaby, deep water, i. e., the round plain by the deep water. 

3. Rhaweigh-weiros. Raga weigh weros, running from a deep hole or gorge. 

4. Raca-wack-hanna. Raca, loomy again ; waqua, flat or low ; hanna, rivulet 
or brook ; a loomy flat by a running brook or by a rapid, noisy rivulet. 

And so we see all these words are expressive of the natural features of the 
places which they designate. 



No. XXXIL— THE OLD RED SCHOOL HOUSE. 



Before the revolution but little progress had been made in the cause of educa- 
tion. Population in the country was sparse, and there were but few school houses. 
It was not uncommon for children to walk two and three miles every morning to 
school and return at night. Only the mere rudiments of learning were taught, and 
principally by persons from the old countries, who, as a profession, took upon 
themselves the task of imparting knowledge to the young, as in later years it was 
taken up by emigrants from New England. 

There is evidence, however, to show that if learning was not deep, it was good 
as far as it went, and answered substantially the purposes of the honest yeomanry 
of that day, and of their children. There was not much improvement before the 
commencement of the present century, but education was not entirely neglected, 
and there was some improvement. 

The population of onr county was almost entirely Dutch and Presbyterian, and 
the early teachings at home and in the church led to the desire for further attain- 
ments. 

At the period to which we refer, school houses were not only few in number, 
very uncomfortable and ill contrived, if indeed there was anything like contrivance 
about them. It is impossible at this time to give all the different localities in Som- 
erset county, and we must confine ourselves to a few of those of which we have the 
best information, either by history or tradition. 

There was a school house at Raritan, now Somerville, in which English was 
taught until the academy was built in 1801, after which the English school was 
transferred to that building. The last teacher before its removal was a Mr. Tenard, 
who gave an evening exhibition in the Court House, which was the first of its kind, 
and the wonder of all the people. There was a school house also at Bound Brook ^ 
Pluckamin, and near the Two Bridges, of which no trace now remains. There was 
a fourth one on the south side of the river, situate on a little knoll on the roadside 
near the point where the properties formerly of Jacobus Quick and Peter DuMont 
joined. It was small and unpretending and abandoned as a school house the latter 
part of the last century, and occupied for some yeais afterward by a poor and worthy 
family of the neighborhood. It is understood that at an early day one William Par- 
rish taught in this house, and, from papers once in our possession, it would seem 
that he was a man of considerable attainment. Owing to changes continually occur- 
ring in the neighborhood, it was concluded to build a new school house about a mile 
further west, so as to accommodate the people from what is now called the South 
Branch, and east as far as the farm of R. Veghte on the river below, and also the 
back neighborhood. In that district there was at that time a large number of 
children. 

A little strip of land between the read and the river bank on the north end of 
the farm, then owned by John Van Middlesworth, vias chosen for the site of the new 
house. Near it on the east was a small stream tributary to the Raritan, known by 



Ill 

the Indian name of Pawnepack. It was then a constantly running brook, taking its 
rise in the hills and large tracts of woodland to the south. A fine row of cedars and 
hemlocks graced the river bank to the west for some distance above, and on the 
opposite side of the road was a row of walnut trees in full growth. The space 
between the west and east was large enough for a pleasant play ground, and the 
urchins of that day enjoyed their ball plays quite as much as the base ball champions 
of the present time can possibly do. 

A new school house was built about the year 1795. It was perhaps 24 feet 
square, having one room only, and one door. On one side of the room there was 
a spacious fire place, which would hold wood of most any length. The furniture of 
the room was of the simplest kind. Plain wooden benches, without backs, sufficed 
for the younger scholars. A long table with benches on each side was devoted to such 
as could write and cipher, while near the place for the teacher were two square tables 
of different heights, at which were placed the little ones who were just beginning to 
write. In outward appearance the house was in advance of all others in that vici- 
nity. It was built of good materials, and more than all was painted red, with white 
casings to the doors and windows. From this, it took the name of " The Red School 
House." 

In later years, when the generation which was first gathered within its walls 
had passed into the busy crowd of men and women, and those who had built the 
house had disappeared, it was known as the "Old Red School House," and by that 
familiar name we propose to speak of it. It was opened for scholars, (or as we 
would now say, inaugurated,) in the spring of the year above referred to. 

The youngest scholar was called on to say the first lesson in it, and it is from 
this source that most of the particulars in this paper have been derived. John War- 
burton, better known as " Master Warburtcn," presided in the school. He was an 
Englishman by birth, and was supposed to have been attached to the British Army 
in the war of the revolution, and to have remained after the close of the war. He 
taught in the neighborhood of the old school house and was respected and well 
known to parents and children. He was a man of more than middle age, and of 
careful habits and respectable deportment, decided in the government of his school, 
sometimes hasty, but generally pleasant and encouraging. He was kind and affec- 
tionate to the younger children and made the school attractive to them. The master 
was a firm believer in the efficacy of the birch \\hen nfcessary. A rod nicely trim 
med was kept near him as he sat in his leather-seated arm chair in one corner of the 
room, and close by were two feirules, a large and a small one, the latter one having, 
as he said, a hard side and a soft side, by which he graduated, or pretended to grad- 
uate, his punishments. Master Warburton was not a mere pretender. What he 
taught was thoroughly taught, and he made no pretensions of teaching what he did 
not know. The English Primmer, Dilworth's Spelling Book and Arithmetic, the 
New Testament and then the Bible, were all the books known to the school. Dil- 
worth has long since been superseded, though, as some supposed, not improved on- 
Webster's spelling book made but slow progress in that community. 

The rudiments of education had been faithfully attended to from the early set- 
tlement of the country. We have seen ancitnt document's with the signature of 
whole neighborhoods attached to them, and it was remarkable with what strtngth 
and boldness the people wrote, not a marksman was found among them. 

The general character of instructior throughout the community was about the 
same as at the Red School House. In some schools the catechism was taught, either 
Hellenbrook or the Westminster, but profane history, geography and mathematics 



112 

were of no account, and yet the men of that day were not ignorant men. Their 
minds were not enlarged by much reading, but they were strengthened and built up 
by reading a few good bocks and reading them well — and by observation and 
thought. They were honest, industrious, faithful men, not given to strife or sedi- 
tion. The impress of their character is still visible in the old population and their 
descendants. The parents of that day took an interest in their children's education, 
plain as it was. They felt it to be their duty. They selected their school masters, 
and attended to their moral character. 

We have made great changes and improvements in our system of common 
school education of late years, but it is still a problem whether the abandonment of 
individual and parental responsibility, and holding up the idea that education is a 
matter that belongs to the public or the State to regulate and enforce, will bring 
with it the benefit so fondly anticipated by many. If we look back to the community 
in wliich stood the old Red School House for so many years, and see who they were 
that received their learning within its walls, we may well doubt whether sound 
learning has advanced as much as some imagine. The same remark may no doubt 
be applied to other parts of the county. The old common school, with its elemen- 
tary instruction, and the pulpit, have made the people of this county what they are. 
The precepts of the inspired books that were constantly read, made impressions 
which were never lost. Will the time ever come when these books shall be banished 
from our schools ? 



No. XXXIII.— THE OLD RED SCHOOL HOUSE. 



THERE are some things connected with the old Red School House which, 
although local and personal, we may be excused for noticing. Every one 
who has knowledge of this ancient seat of learning, associates with it the 
character, not the person of the good old master to whom we have referred, and who 
for years led the children up the little hills of science — for steep they certainly were 
not We have spoken of him somewhat, but we would add, that he had qualities 
well fitted to his vocation. 

His great points were order and method. He allowed no slovenliness in his 
school. Exact himself in all that he did, he required exactness in his scholars. 
The writing books and ciphering books of the children were patterns of neatness. 
Every line was fixed by scale and dividers, and every figure had its proper place. In 
this quiet way he made the children proud of themselves and of their work, and 
inculcated useful habits. At the call for "book" in the morning all took their 
places at once. When the shadow at the door marked high " twelve " a tap of the 
ruler gave notice of it, and the hour glass was turned. This glass deserves a pass- 
ing notice. It was an old clumsy affair, as though made for hardships. It always 
stood upon the master's table, and was an object of great interest to the scholars 
They all thought that by long use the passage way for the sand had become 
enlarged, and that they lost at least a quarter of an hour by it. Sometimes the 
master, if in a very good humor, would pretend not to see that the upper end of the 
curious machine was empty, but generally when the last sand dropped, the call was 
made for books, and the lessons of the afternoon commenced. 

The manners and the morals of the pupils were carefully attended to. In this 
duty he was aided by the facility he possessed of gaining the affection of the very 
young and by setting a proper example to all. 

It was the custom in early days for country teachers to board alternately week 
by week among their employers, thus lessening the expense of education by giving 
free board. The practice of Mr. Warburton, in regards to this, was peculiar. He 
lived altogether in the school house. It was his abode by day and by night, but he 
was supplied with food by the employers, and after this fashion, each employer 
furnished him provisions for a week. On every Sunday morning he would repair 
before breakfast, in his best attire, which was very plain and neat, to the house of 
the person who was to supply him for the week, carrying with him a small sized 
wicker basket and a handsome glass bottle that would hold about a quart. He 
would breakfast with the family, and as his coming was known, parents and children 
were careful to receive him kindly. It was quite an event. After breakfast his 
basket would be filled with the best the house could afford, suitable for his comfort, 
and his bottle filled with rich milk. After a little conversation he would take his 
leave and retire to his quiet home. 

The next morning a fresh bottle of milk would be carried to him by the children, 
and so he wouhl be supplied daily with all he desired, and much more — both of 



114 

meat and drink. His favorite diet was milk and brown bread. He never visited 
except on the occasions referred to. 

In the school house was a garret, which was reached through a trap door by the 
aid of a small ladder. In this he may have slept at times, but he had no bed, and 
usually slept in the school room. Two benches placed side by side, with a couple of 
blankets, formed his resting place for many years. The garret was his sanctum and 
many were the conjectures as to what was in it. It was generally supposed there 
was money concealed somewhere. Once on a time the school house was left un- 
guarded, and was entered by some country burglar. Quite a parcel of old pistereens, 
and quarters, and other small change was found upon the culprit, and it was said 
they had been discovered stowed away in little nooks and corners all around the 
garret where they might best be concealed. Fortunately the whipping post was in 
fashion in those days, and thirty-nine lashes well laid on, served as a protection 
against future annoyance. 

The old master was never known to go to church. The school room was his 
temple, and many curious speculations were indulged in as to what his religion was. 
He had on a particular part of his table, a couple of very nice looking books, the 
contents of which were a mystery to all. Some supposed that as he was an English- 
man, they were the Book of Common Prayer and some other good book used in the 
English Church, and that he worshipped according to that form, although no one 
seemed to know what that form was. 

Among the superstitious it was sometimes reported that strange noises were 
heard at different times in the night — and it was even whispered by the more cen- 
sorious that the old master must have some communication with evil spirits. 
Such imagings which always attach to persons who lead somewhat of a hermit life, 
did not affect the character of the good man. Whatever may have been his eccen- 
tricities, or his religious creed, he was a good preceptor, and respected by all who 
knew him for bis probity and uprightness. He had strong filial feelings, and has 
been known to walk to New Brunswick and back in a day to deposit in the post 
office a small remittance for his aged parents in England. 

For a series of years the old master had charge of the children in the Red 
School House and its vicinity. Scarce any are left who remember him, but his 
name was as familiar as a household word. The effect of his teachings will outlive 
his memory. Late in life he left the little tenement on the river bank, and taught 
for a time in a school house near the old Raritan bridge. He had saved up a little 
property, with which he bought a few acres of land on the mountain back of Somer- 
ville. There he had put up a small house.near to which was a cave constructed for his 
own use at particular seasons. To this place he finally retired, living a lonely life 
during the residue of his days. A few tried friends who had long known him at- 
tended to his wants. Nature at last gave way. His spirit departed, and he was laid 
to rest in his mother earth. Peace to his memory. 

The school house, after Master Warburton left it, continued to stand on the lit- 
tle knoll by the roadside. It was used for a time as a place to teach in. The Sun- 
day-school of the neighborhood was for a time held in it, and then some little family 
would occupy it by permission of the inhabitants, but there seemed to be no one to 
keep it up. The paint wore off, the weather boards loosened, and all parts of it 
showed marks of decay. Year after year it became more and Imore ruinous and 
desolate, and there was a sympathy in many hearts attending this desolation. The 
hemlocks and evergreens that had adorned the river bank were from time to time 



115 

washed out by the current, until only here and there one remained. The walnut 
trees, with their grateful shade wasted gradually away. The Pawnepack, from 
natural causes, became smaller and smaller, until it almost ceased to flow. A few 
years later, and the house itself disappeared. It had fulfilled its office. 

If there be a gray head pilgrim who spent joyous days in and around it in early 
life, and who shall pass by it now, he will pause while memory traces the scene as 
it was, and shed a tear over the sad change which has taken place. For many years 
to come the inhabitants of that beautiful valley will point the passing stranger to 
the sacred spot where in early days the fathers learned their first lessons under the 
good Master Warburton, and where once stood so long the Old Red School House. 



The Indians on the I^aritan. 



CHAPTER I. 



ONE of the inquiries of which the future historian will prosecute with most in- 
terest and the least success, must be that which relates to the aborigines of 
this Continent ; and among the regrets which he will feel most keenly, will 
be that which results from the conviction that extreme carelessness and inattention 
marks the accounts of those, who, from their connection and intercourse with the 
tribes who inhabited our State, might have fully satisfied every necessary curiosity, 
but neglected it for other details of far less importance and general interest. 

In order to supply, so far as it can now be done, this deficiency in regard to one 
of the Indian Nations which acted a conspicuous part in the early contests between 
the Europeans and the natives of New Jersey ; and to combine in a distinct narra- 
tive all the scattered notices which have been preserved of their numbers, residence 
and conduct, is the object of the following : 

The interest of the detail will depend, not upon the graphic character of the 
story itself, but upon its particular and distinct notice of each event, and the careful 
industry with which every circumstance has been gathered, combined and related. 
If in the result, the gleanings, after all, seem but meagre and scanty, we shall be 
consoled by the reflection that nothing has been lost either through haste or inat- 
tention, and that no efforts have been spared which might have rendered it more 
complete. 

With this object in view, we shall leave all the inquiries relating to the general 
character of the aborigines of the American continent — their religion and morals — 
their domestic constitutions and modes of life— their origin and traditions— to other 
hands, and commence our narrative where the scene of American history opens, 
with the advent of the Europeans to the shores of New Jersey. 

The Naraticongs, or the tribe on the north side of the river Raritan, formed a 
part of the great Delaware nation, seated on the Susquehanna and Delaware rivers, 
and extending as far east as the Hudson, and as far south as the Potomac. They 
differed in no essential particulars from the other aborigines. They were a brave 
and warlike people and subsisted, like the other, principally by the chase ; cultivat- 
ing the earth but partially for the purpose of raising a few cereals and vegetable.';. 
Their wants were few and easily supplied, and universal conlentment with their lot 
seems to have formed their highest enjoyment. 

The traditions preserved among them, and rehearsed to those who interested 
themselves in these affairs, point to the Northwest as that part of the American 
continent from which they came to these pleasant lands and sunny climes, where 
the Europeans found them roaming at large, the lords of an extensive domain of 
hill and dale, woodlands and lawns, mountains and valleys, and rivers and brooks 
and seas. The God of Nature had given them possessions, and they roamed over 
all without molestation or fear for many successive generations. But the moment 
so pregnant with those iniluences which changed as if by the force of enchantment 
their whole destiny, came at last. On the third of September, 1609, Hendrick Hud- 



119 

son moored his tempest tossed bark, within the waters of New Jersey, and the white 
man set his foot on their shores, and the work of destiny began. No human power 
has since been able to stay it, for it is God. 

The Delawares at this moment were a mighty people. Some forty tribes 
acknowledged them as their " grandfathers " or parent stock; and they say that 
many centuries ago their ancestors emigrating eastwardly came at last to the 
Namaisisipu, (Mississippi), on the east side of which, as their spies reported, dwelt 
a people, tall, robust and gigantic, who bore the name " Alligiwe," having towns 
defended by regular fortifications. The wanderers requested liberty to establish 
themselves in their vicinity and were refused, but had permission to pass over this 
mighty river, in order to seek for themselves a country farther to the east. While 
they were crossing, the " Alligiwe " alarmed at their nnmbers, assailed them, and 
destroyed many of those wbo had gained the opposite shore, and then threatened 
the same fate to the remainder, should they attempt the passage. 

In this dilemma they accepted a proposition for an alliance with the 
" Mengwe," a people who had also come from a distant country, but had approached 
the river nearer its source. The two nations when united, determined to avenge the 
treachery of the ''Alligiwe" and subdue their country. A protracted war, 
waged with various fortunes and terrible losses on both sides, was the consequence ; 
but in the end the enemy was overcome and driven from the country. In process 
of time these hunters crossed the mountains, visited the Susquehannah and Dela- 
ware rivers, explored the "Sheyichbi" country, which upon their return, they 
presented as abounding in game, fruits, fish and fowl, and destitute of inhabitants. 
Concluding this to be the home destined for them by the "Great Spirit," they re- 
moved thither and occupied it. 

Having thus, in as few words as possible, recited so much of this tradition of 
the Delewares as to their origin and journies, as relates immediately to our subject, 
we proceed to the history of that portion or section of the tribe which inhabited the 
Valley of the Raritan. From the testimony of Penniheck, Sachem of Achter Col, 
it would seem that they had come from the east side of the Hudson ; and that they 
were a part of the tribe known in the early records as the "Weckquaeskecks," wbo 
occupied a tract of land between the Hudson and East Rivers, on the banks of two 
smaller streams called the Sintsink and the Armouk, and is now embraced in the 
town of Greensburgh, Westchester county, N. Y. His remark is that the tribe 
named Raritan, resided before at Weckquaeskesk, and had no Sachem. In this 
there is no improbability in itself, and we shall see in the course of our history that 
they again found occasion to emigrate to Staten Island within the period of 
authentic chronicles. All the natives on both sides of the Hudson, below the High- 
lands, were families of the Delaware tribe, and from their habits, if not also their 
necessities, often found it convenient or necessary to change their location, as food 
became scarce, or as another situation offered greater facilities in procuring it. 

What was the exact number of the Raritan tribe at the time of the discovery, 
we have no means of ascertaining ; circumstances indicate that it was considerable. 
They were a people of weight and influence among their neighbors, and acted a 
prominent part in several of the tragedies which marked the first intercourse of the 
two rival races on these shores. The only actual enumeration which we have dis 
covered is that of Blanchamp Plantagenet, Esq., published in 1648, and of course 
referring to their strength at that time, which makes the tribe amount to 1,200 under 
two kings. But the whole paragraph is so unreliable, and drawn so manifestly from 
his fervid imagination, that no dependence ought to be placed upon it. Indeed, if 



120 

we allow the correctness of the common estimate, given by different authors and for 
different purposes, that there were not over 2,000 Aborigines in the whole of the 
State of New Jersey, it cannot be correct. To assign one quarter to the tribe on the 
Raritan, is more than their weight and importance among the other tribes would 
demand for them ; and we do not therefore suppose that at any time they actually 
numbered 500, and the probability is that there were not so many even as this actu- 
ally living on the shores of our river. 

The habits and customs of the aborigines of this continent have so often been 
described, that we do not intend to dwell upon that part of our subject. We only 
remark that the Raritans differed in no essential points from the other tribes. Vao- 
derdouk says : *' For bread they use maize which the women pound fine into meal, 
of which they bake cakes, for they know nothing of mills. They also use pounded 
maize, as we do rice and samp, with their boiled meat. Their common food, and 
for which their meal is generally used, is ' pap ' or ' mush,' which in the New 
Netherlands is named 'supan.' This is so common among the In lians that they 
seldom pass a day without it, unless on a journey or hunting. We seldom visit an 
Indian lodge at any time of the day, without seeing their ' supan' preparing, or see- 
ing them eating the same. It is the common food of all ; young and old eat it, and 
they are so well accustomed to it, and fond of it, that when they visit our people or 
each other they consider themselves neglected unless treated with ' supan.' " 

From this love of maize and the universal use made of it, the inquiry whence 
the Indians derived the plant, becomes one of some importance and interest. 
Happily we are able to answer it with some degree of satisfaction from one of their 
own traditions. " The Indians of New Jersey say their corn and beans were received 
from the southern Indians, who received their seed from a people who resided still 
further South, which may well be true, as the Castalians have long since resided in 
Florida," is the language of Vanderdonk. And again, the maize may have been 
among the Indians in the warm climates a long time ago ; however, our Indians say 
they did eat roots and bark of trees, instead of bread, before the introduction of 
Indian corn or maize. This gives the South as the original soil of this useful plant, 
and confirms all our knowledge of its peculiar habits. It was most probably indige- 
nous to the South, and on account of its useful qualities carried to different locali- 
ties by the aboriginies even at a very remote period ; long before the white man set 
his foot on any part of the western continent. They almost worshipped it. The 
green corn dance, with which its maturity is honored, is to this day one of the most 
solemn religious rites among more than one of the tribes ; and they prepare them- 
selves for the least which it affords them by medicine as well as exercise. 



CHAPTER II. 



1'>HE Raritan Indians were not the first natives of New Jersey who saw Hudson 
and his white men ; for the natives of the Monmouth shore, the NaversiDks> 
held intercourse with him while in the lower bay, but they were the first to 
try their strength with the intruders. It was an unfortunate collision, induced by a 
provocation studiously kept from view by those who left the only record of it now 
possible for us to consult. The commencement of a train of similar trials of strength 
in which the savage has always, in the end, been the greatest sufferer, and by which 
he appears destined, in connection with other peculiarities of his position, to be 
swept from the face of the earth, and his very name perish. We give the narrative 
in the original words by Hudson's mate : " Sunday, September 6. The morning was 
fair weather ; sent John Coleman with four men in our boat over to the north side 
to sound the other river (the Narrows), being four leagues from hence. They found 
by the way shoal water two fathoms, but at the north side of the river eight and 
twenty fathoms, and very good riding for ships ; and a narrow river to the westward 
between two islands, (Staten Island and Bergen Point.) The lands they told us 
were as pleasant with grass and flowers and goodly trees as ever they saw, and very 
sweet smells came from them. So they went in boats and saw an open sea (Newark 
Bay), and returned ; and as they came back they were set upon by two canoes, the 
one having twelve and the other fourteen men. The night came on and began to 
rain so that their match went out ; and they had one man slain in the fight, which 
was an Englishman, named John Coleman, with an arrow shot into his throat, and 
two more hurt. It grew so dark that they could not find the ship that night, but 
labored to and fro on their oars." 

Now that these were Raritans, is certain from the fact that some of the tribe a 
few years afterwards sold not only Staten Island, but all the country west of Kills 
and south of Newark Bay, to the whites. Their acknowledged ownership supposes 
occupation, and their presence there is confirmation of our view that they were the 
men who murdered Coleman. To suppose it to have been the Canarse on Long 
Island, or the Manhattans, of New York, would make it necessary also to suppose 
that the boat went in that direction ; whereas all the natural features embodied in 
the description of the Journal, prove that it was the western and not the eastern 
shore to which they refer ; and this is in accordance with the whole bent of Hud- 
son's purpose in coming into these waters. He wished to find a passage to Cathay — 
the end of his voyage was to be China ; and hence he so eagerly pressed to the west 
and penetrated every islet holding out any hope of leading him there. To us it is 
a laughable idea, but to him it was a splendid vision, bright in its hopes of wealth 
and renown ! 

From the time of Hudson's visit until 1634, a period of twenty-five years, we 
find but few notices of our tribe in the historical records of the period. They must 
have kept up constant intercourse with the Dutch on Manhattan ; for the trade with 
them constituted the great end of their visit to the river, which Hudson made known 



122 

to them, and of their final settlements and colonization, and they prosecuted it with 
the greatest degree of activity, exploring and penetrating every river, bay and creek 
with their sloops and boats, as is shown by every incidental notice of their habits 
and aims, found in the remaining records of their enterprise and industry. 

In 1626 the Raritan Indians sold the whole of "Egh qua ous," orStaten Island, 
to Peter Minuet, the Dutch Director General, and his Counsel. The purchase had 
its object principally in a desire to give greater security to their possessions and 
their trading establishments ; and at the same time, having gained permission to do 
so, they built a block house surrounded with cedar palisades on the south of Man- 
hattan Island. It was an acorn planted to grow an oak — the seed corn of the great 
commercial emporium of the new world. In the progress of ages the new may 
exceed the old in her influence upon the destinies of humanity. How wonderful is 
Providence ! 

What occasion had given alarm to the Director General we cannot now discover 
certainly. It was probably the murder of a Wequaesquack Indian, by two of his 
farm servants, as he came to sell some beaver skins, in company with his nephew 
and another Indian, and which led to a dreadful retaliation twenty years after- 
wards ! 

In 1641, after brooding of revenge, imagining that he heard the moan of the 
murdered man's spout in the sigh of the wind, and full of the conviction that it 
never would find rest until he had avenged its cause, he came, shrouding his pur- 
pose in business and friendship, to the house of one Class Cornelius Smits, an aged 
farmer residing on the west side of the river opposite the fort, and asked to purchase 
cloth. The old man suspecting nothing, for the young Indian had been in the habit of 
working for his son, received him kindly and set food before him and then went to a 
chest in which the cloth was kept to procure it for him, but while stooping down, the 
savage seized an axe and laid him dead at his feet with one blow. After rifling the 
house of all his fancy craved, he made his escape ! The Governor demanded satis- 
faction of the Chief Mongockone, but was met with a refusal. He was sorry that 
twenty Christians had not been slain— the young man had only avenged the death 
of a relative after the manner of his people. Parties were sent out to retaliate, but 
returned without affecting anything, and the whole affair was finally forgotten amid 
the pressure of present interests and events. 

In 1633 Wonter Van Twiller succeeded Peter Minuet as Director General at fort 
New Amsterdam ; and in the next year, 1634, he concluded an advantageous peace 
with the Raritan Indians. In the then weak state of the colony this was considered 
a great stroke of policy ; and the successful negotiation was greatly applauded by 
his friends, as the most enduring benefits were expected from his labors. Now a 
treaty of peace always implies a state of war ; but what the cause of their hostilities 
had been, we are not told. They arose most probably from the conflicting interests 
of trade and the unjust mode of conducting it. The Dutch, indeed, claim to have 
regarded strictly all the laws of honest)' in their traffic with the aborigines ; but 
much of it, no doubt, was the honesty of the man who put one hand in the scale for 
a pound weight, and two for two pounds. Limbrecht (see pages 88-92) says " the 
want of mutual harmony between the two nations must in the meantime have in- 
creased, and have given birth to distrust and quarrels." And again, " the honesty 
with which the Netherlands traded with the savages was unquestionably a great 
cause of the profit which they obtained from this trade. They kept their word in all 
their contracts, and never tried to impose upon the ignorance of these barbarians." 
Subsequent events will show that the good man judged his countrymen too favorably. 



CHAPTER III. 



FIVE years subsequent to the time we have been speaking of above (1639), that 
part of the tribe which resided on the upper parts of the river above Bound 
Brook and Somerville, emigrated to the seaboard. For this movement two 
reasons are assigned : One, "the spring freshets in the river," which frequently 
destroyed their stock of maize or corn and other provisions, which they were in the 
habit of" storing in pits under groui d." Another, because they were then subject 
to the constant incursions and attacks of the Minis or Minissinks of the northwest. 
On the west side of the Lamingtou and north of the Rockaway rivers, there is a dis- 
trict of country, which, in former days, was almost literally strewed over with arrow 
heads, indicating its having been oce of their battle grounds. In early life I have 
gathered hundreds of them, varying in size and form, but almost every one formed 
out of a blue variety of hornstone, which is common in that vicinity, and from its 
choncoidal fracture is well adapted to the purpose. But the deeds of valor witnessed 
there, and the names of the heroes slain, will rever come into remembrance. No 
admiring pen can tell 

" What captive hundreds bleeding, faint and bound, 
Expire, in flame, or fall, transformed with many a wound." 

This circumstance is not the only one which might be mentioned in confirma- 
tion of the fact that frequent cotflicts occurred between the Minissinks of the 
Delaware, and the Raritans, on the hills which formed the neutral ground between 
their respective localities. 

The peace of 1634 continued until 1640, a period of six years, and in the mean- 
time the Indian traffic had not only extended, but several plantations had been com- 
menced. In 1640 a serious misunderstanding arose between the Raritans and the 
Dutch, growing out of a theft which their own people had committed. Some ot 
them while passing through the Kills in a slrop, stopped on Staten Island to take in 
water and stole some hogs belonging to Captain David DeVries, who had a "planta- 
tion " there. The blame was laid upon the Indians in order to prevent suspicion 
from resting upon the real offenders, and was rendered more probable from the fact 
that for some time they had not manifested their accustomed friendship, and were 
charged with attempting to seize a yacht sent to their river for furs, and to kill the 
crew. In the last there was some truth, for a difficulty had occurred, but the crew 
escaped, and the boat and furs only were lost, but the other was untrue. 

Instead of inquiring carefully into these rumors, before proceeding to act, Kieft, 
who was Governor at that time, immediately determined on offensive operations. 
Prudence would have urged delay at all events, for it was a critical period to act_ 
The Dutch were few in number, their defences weak, and several of them living like 
DeVries, on plantations beyond their protection, and there was beside a general 
excitement among all the Indian tribes, not only in the vicinity of Manhattan, but 
also Fort Orange. This had arisen from the dangerous policy of the inhabitants of 
Rensellaerwich, who allowed themselves to furnish the Mohawks with firearms in 



124 

exchange for furs, while at the former place no arms could be obtained. The South- 
ern tribes were jealous because it placed them at a disadvantage, and prevented them 
from being hble to contend with their fierce enemies on equal footing. Their fears 
even magnified their discontent, when they applied at Manhattan for arms to fight 
the Mohawks, and received a resolute and flat denial. 

And besides all this, when conciliation was absolutely essential to the main- 
tenance of peace, with a blindness which amounts almost to infatuation, the Gov- 
ernor irritated them still more by a measure as unjust as it was impolitic. He levied 
a tax upon their corn and proceeded at once to collect it in a severe and vigorous 
manner. At this they expressed their astonishment, and besieged the fort with 
loud murmurs. They said " the Sakema must be a mean fellow;" that they had 
not invited him to come and live there for the purpose of taking away their corn ; 
that the Dutch were " materioty," or men of blood ; that they had neither a great 
Sachem, nor chief, and though they might be something on the water, they were 
nothing on land. 

The Governor, when thus taunted to his face, became blind to interest or pru- 
dence, and listened oaly to passion. These petty aggressions of the Indians, one of 
which must have been known to be false, and the other might have had many exten- 
uating circumstances, were made the occasion of open hostilities. The case was 
declared to be one of great consequence, affecting the dignity of the States General 
and the respect due to the West India Company. Secretary Van Tienhoven was 
despatched with an armed force consisting of fifty soldiers and twenty sailors, 
seventy men under the direction of Hendrick Garretson, Skipper of the ship Nep- 
tune, to attack the Indians in their town, destroy their corn, and make as many 
prisoners as possible, unless they should sue for peace. The locality of this expedi- 
tion is unfortunately uncertain. I believe it to have proceeded by water to the 
mouth of the Raritan, and thence to what is now known as Marten's Dock ; from 
which by land it could easily reach Piscataway, known to have been the principal 
town of the Raritan Tribe. Vanderdonk's map gives several indices on the north 
side of the Raritan River as the locality of as many Indian villages. There were 
three The first was Piscataway, the second was Metockshegan (Metuchen), and 
the third was on the south side of the river directly north of the village of Raritan, 
at the corner of the orchard of Hon R. H. Veghte (now J. B. Duke's place). 

Arrived on the ground, Van Tienhoven lost all control over the men, who de- 
manded at once permission to plunder and slaughter the Indians. The Secretary 
resisted and endeavored to negotiate, until, irritated at their insubordination, he at 
last quitted the party and retired, warning them that they would have to answer for 
whatever mischief might ensue. His admonitions had no effect, and he had not 
proceeded three-quarters of a mile before one of the Indians was shot, and the 
Chief's brother, who had been taken prisoner, barbarously butchered by Govert 
Lockermans, one of the party. After perpetrating many acts of cruelty the soldiers 
finally returned to their craft, having burnt the town and destroyed all the crops of 
the Indians, leaving one man, Ross, the super cargo of the Neptune, dead on the 
ground. DeVries in his account, says Van Tienhoven took a hundred men ; but 
that he was only to demand satisfaction, and was forbid to plunder snd kill ; while 
other accounts say that Kieft had given private instructions to the men different 
from those which Van Tienhoven received ; and this, if true, may account for the 
insubordination and their anxiety to burn and destroy. 

The effects of this injudicious and wanton attack upon the Raritans was soon 
manifest. Every one who knew their temper expected retaliation on their part, and 



125 

a geueral dread of their revenge spread through the whole country. Every planta- 
tion and family not actual!)' uuder the proteetion of the guns of the fort, was be 
lieved to be in danger. A universal gloom rested upon the minds of all and an 
almost entire stagnation of the trade in furs, and of traflSc in general, ensued ; but 
the winter fortunately passed away without any outbreak or injury on their part. 

The fire, however, had only been smothered, and they reserved their revenge 
to make it more certain and tfTective. When the spring of 1641 opened, the 
pent up flame burst out, and Staten Island became the theatre of the war. Smart- 
ing under the injuries of the preceding year in burning their town and mur- 
dering even the son of their Chief, considered the more unjustifiable since they 
were not guilty of what they had been accused of doing, they now said that the 
"Swanekius " should have dead men instead of dead hogs to fight for. 

Collecting the forces of the whole tribe they suddenly made an attack upon the 
" bowerie " of David De Vries, set fire to his dwelling and tobacco house, and killed 
four of his servants or laborers ; "and (so he says in his journal, page 26,) my 
colony on Staten Island was smothered in the bud by the management of Governor 
Kieft, who wanted to avenge the wrongs of his people on the Indians." 

This assault, at the moment, was unexpected. The Raritans had been pretend- 
ing to sue for peace and had promised that their " talk " would be presented soon. 
It not only excited and alarmed the Director General, but it discouraged the settle- 
ment and improvement of the country, which had begun to bean object of primary 
interest. 



CHAPTER IV. 



CORNELIUS MEIvYN PATROON, of Staten Island, had brought out several 
persons to settle his colony, and cattle to stock it, but now it was considered 
unsafe for either to be sent there. Prompt and hasty in all his actions, Kieft 
at once resolved — contrary to the express directions of his superiors in Holland, 
whose policy from thebeginning was to cultivate a good understanding with the 
Savages — to wage a war of extermination against this hostile tribe ; and to employ 
in it not only his own forces, but to invite his allies among the neighboring Indians 
to take up the hatchet also ; and to stimulate their efforts and execute a thirst for 
blood, he offered ten fathoms of wampun for the head of any Raritan they m ght 
kill — and twenty fathoms for the head of any of them who had been engaged in the 
assault on De Vries' plantation. Knowing that this would iLcrease the appiehen- 
sion of the settlers when it became known, he also gave directions for a small 
redoubt to be built on the Island for their protection ; but with characteristic econo- 
my appended to the order a direction to have it done " at the least possible expense." 

The Governor's reward was soon claimed. Pacham, chief of the Tankitekes, 
of Sing Sing, soon made his appearance at the fort with the hand of a dead man 
dangling from a stick. It belonged to the Raritan Chief, and in presenting it the 
savage boasted that he had avenged the wrongs of the " Swanekins," whose friend 
he was. Thus had the tribe been deprived of their sachem and his son through the 
wanton conduct of the white men in accusing them falsely of a theft committed by 
themselves. Is it strange they should attempt to bum and kill in return. If wars 
were to be waged for such things and in such a way, it cannot seem strange that De 
Vries and others remonstrated, and the Indians in the end became convinced that a 
combination for the extermination of their murderers afforded them the only pros- 
pect of security. 

The Governor's course with the Indians was not popular ; the difficulties 
increased, and his fears and perplexities overcame his sense of self-importance. 
Smits, the "raadmaker," was murdered by the young Weckquaeskeck, as we have 
already related. De Vries and others remonstrated, and the popular mind was full 
of apprehension of violence from the savages. To quiet apprehension and gain 
confidence and favor for his measures he convened an assembly of the people — the 
first popular meeting in New Netherlands, on the 28th of August, 1641. Three 
propositions were submitted, ist. Whether it was just that the murder of the 
"raadmaker" should be avenged, and the town burnt, if the murderer was not 
given up ? 2d. In what manner it should be done ? 3d. Who was to do it? Due 
deliberation was had and the opinions handed in the next day. The conclusions 
were, that as a harvest was out, the cattle in the woods, and many of the people 
scattered, the reprisal should be deferred until the hunting season. Meanwhile the 
trade in corn should be continued— no one attempt anything except against the 
murderer himself— two hundred " coats of mail," (malj rocken) be sent from the 
north ; and a messenger sent twice even thrice, to demand the offender for punish - 
meat. Then two expeditions were to be got ready ; one to Norwalk Island, the 



127 

other to Weckquaeskeck. The Governor to lead the van and to employ as many 
active negroes as he could spare, each armed with a scalping knife and half pike. 
Twelve men were also chosen to co operate with and counsel him in these afifairs. 

DifiBculties arose, the counsel advised peace, the winter set in and yet nothing 
had been done. In March, Hendrick Van Dyke was ordered to proceed with a force 
of eighty men to the Indian town and execute summary vengeance upon it with 
fire and sword. But even now the poor Governor was destined to be frustrated in 
his desire to shed blood. Van Dyke with a trusty guide pushed bravely on towards 
Weckquaeskeck, but when the expedition reached Armenperal the night set in 
clouded and dark ; a halt was ordered — an hour and a half lost — the guide per- 
plexed, lost his way ; the lieuttnaut lost his temper, or his courage, or both ; for- 
tune favored the red men and Van Dyke came back without having seen an Indian. 
In the end peace was concluded with them by Secretary Van Tienhoven. 

Soon after this difficulty was ended, another arose. Miantonimo, Chief of the 
Narragansets, hovered around the settlements with a band of one hundred warriors, 
with a view, it is said, of urging the savages into a general combination against the 
whites. Excitement and alarm became intense ; a man could not " halloa " in the 
night but it was supposed that Indians were murdering him. Even the Governor's 
equanimity failed him and he suspected them not only of endeavoring to poison 
him, but also of practicing their iucantations against life. 

In the midst of the excitement a Hackensack Indian was made drunk and rob- 
bed of a dress of beaver skin by some traders. He was enraged and vowed to shoot 
the first Swanekin he should meet. He more than kept his word. An Englishman 
in the employ of DeVries on Staten Island was killed ; and a few days after Garret 
Janson Van Vorst was slain while engaged in roofing a house. When the chiefs 
from Hackensack and Rickawank came to oflfer, according to their custom, two 
hundred fathoms of wampum, in expiation of the offense, and to sue for peace, 
Kieft refused to compromise and demanded the murderer. They replied with jus- 
tice and shrewdness : " You ought not to sell brandy to the Indians to make them 
crazy, for they are not accustomed to your liquors. Your own people, though used 
to them, fight with knives and commit fooleries when drunk We wish you, so as 
to prevent all mischief, to sell no more fire water to our braves." " You must sur- 
render the murderer," said Kieft — but they answered, " We cannot do it, he is off to 
the Tenkitekes " The fact was he was " the son of a Chief," and no reconciliation 
was effected. In the winter the Mihawks came down to Tappan and Weskquaes- 
keck. The terror they inspired was unbounded ; women and children fled to Man- 
hattan, where the Dutch received them in their houses for a fortnight. The Hack- 
ensack's bivouacked at Pavonia to the number of a thousand. 

The Indian relations n^w approached a crisis. Two views of policy prevailed 
at Fort Amsterdam. DeVries counseled patience, humanity and kindness. " The 
Indians, though cunning enough, will do no harm unless harm is done to them," 
was hii mixim. Van Tienhoven, and another party of restless spirits clamored for 
their extermination. At length the matter was decided on the evening of Shrove- 
tide, when wide and mysterious toasts were in free circulation ; as the Governor 
was feasting at one of their houses, Miry Adriensen Vanderveer, Jan Jansen Dam 
and Abraham Planck, three members of the late committee of "Twelve Men," 
presented to him in the name of the community, a request to attack the Indians, 
whom they said " God had now evidently delivered into their hands" Unfortu- 
nately the counsels of treachery and cruelty prevailed. Kieft resolved " to make the 
sivages wipe their chops." Bogardus warned him " not to be too rash ;" LaMon- 



128 

tague pointed to the defenceless condition of the colony, and urged patience until a 
vessel should arrive from home, and declared that a bridge would be built over 
which war would stalk ere long through the whole cauntrj'. DeVries told him it 
could not be made without the consent of the " twelve men," pointed to the ruin of 
Swanendale, in 1630, and Staten Island, in 1640, in consequence of wrangling with 
the Indians, " You go to break the Indians head," said he, " but it is your own 
nation you are about to destroy. Nobody in the country knows anything of this." 
Panting to perform some deed worthy of the heroes of old Rome, he replied to every 
remonstrance, " The order has gone forth, it shall not be recalled." 

On the 15th of February, when the Winter's night was cold and bleak, the 
tragedy opened. Two armed parties went forth from Fort Amsterdam. At the 
head of one was Adrienseu Vanderveer, accompanied by Govert Lockermans. Their 
destination was Corlaershook. The other, a troop of soldiers, commanded by their 
Sergeant, Rudolf, went to Pavonia, where the principal party of Indians slept, 
behind the settlement of Egbert Wontersen, adjoining the farm of Jan Evertsen 
Bout, and to secure success even the blessing of heaven was evoked. " I remained 
that night," says De Vries, "at the Doctor's and took a seat in the kitchen near the 
fire. At midnight I heard loud shrieks, and went out to the parapet of the fort and 
looked toward Pavonia. I saw nothing but the flashing of the guns. I heard no 
more the cries of the Indians, they were butchered in their sleep." 

It was a horrid sight ; eighty Indians were slaughtered at Pavonia, and thirty at 
Corlaershook while sleeping. Neither infancy nor age was spared. Some were 
hacked to pieces while fastened to little boards, the primitive cradle ; some thrown 
into the river, some into the fire. The cries of the mother was unheeded, the tears 
of decrepit old age fell unheeded. Infuriated passion hurled them together in one 
promiscuous slaughter. Even those who escaped and the next morning begged for 
shelter were killed and thrown into the river. " Some came running to us from the 
country," says the account above quoted, " having their hands cut off; some lost 
both arms and legs ; some were supporting their entrails with their hands, while 
others were mangled in other horrid ways, too horrid to be conceived." And these 
miserable wretches, as well as many of the Dutch, were all the time under the im- 
pression that the attack had proceeded from the terrible Mohawks. 

The armed parties returned, flashed with victory, leading thirty prisoners, and 
bringing with them the heads of several of the enemy, and were received with 
thanks, rewards and the congratulations of the Governor's party. 

The others protested and upbraided ; and Van Tienhoven's motherin-law, it is 
said, kicked about the heads of the dead men. For a season, violence seemed to be 
in the ascendent. The settlers on Long Island, not to be behind their neighbors in 
New Amsterdam, got up an expedition against those in their vicinity. It ended in 
the Indians being plundered of two loads of corn, and two of them being killed in 
attempting to defend it. But the revulsion was terrible. The river Indians com- 
bined with those on the Island, and clutching the tomahawk, scalping knife and fire 
brand, the war whoop rang from the Raritan to the Connecticut. Eleven tribes, 
embracing two thousand warriors, proclaimed war against the Dutch. Every settler 
on whom they could lay hands was murdered, and women and children dragged into 
captivity. For thirty miles to the east, and twenty north and south, they burned the 
dwellings, desolated the farms and farm houses, killed the cattle, destroyed the 
crops of grain, hay and tobacco, laid waste the country all around, and drove the 
settlers into the Fort. "Mine eyes," says Roger Williams, " saw the flames of their 



129 

towns, the flights and hurries of men, women and children, and the present removal 
of all that could, to Holland." 

The horrors of a Winter's cold were superadded to those of the burnings and 
the murders, and for two months Kieft was obliged to shelter them in the fort and 
to hear the bitter reproaches of men who asked for their wives, parents for their 
children, and wives for their husbands, and taunted him with the insane conduct 
which had reduced them in a moment from competency to poverty. The whole 
Dutch interest outsile the walls of the fort was well nigh ruined, and the haughty 
spirit of the man cowered for once. " We continue in much trouble and loss from 
heathen, and many of our inhabitants behold their lives and property in jeopardy, 
which is doubtless the consequence of our sins,""was his confession on proclaiming 
a fact. So great was the discontent that some even proposed sending him to Hol- 
land in the Peacock, then in port. 

In the meantime peace had been made with the Raritans, and from this time 
forward they are less mixed up in the aflfairs at New Amsterdam, and the materials 
to trace their history are less full. It is even stated by one whose authority is almost 
paramount in such matters, that they kept their stipulations sacredly, and never 
again raised the tomahawk against the Dutch, even when the whole of the neigh- 
boring tribes were at war with them. No authority is cited, and other things make 
it certain that it can only be true in a partial degree. Outwardly they may have 
pretended to regard the agreement, but in fact they often united in the injuries done 
and in the expeditious got up against the vrhites in subsequent years. 



CHAPTER V. 



IN 1644, for instance, an expedition was sent out from New Amsterdam to Staten 
Island, where they had cut off all communication with the west of the river, 
and committed several depredations. The party consisting of forty Burghers 
under Captain Joachim Peterson Kuyter, thirty five Englishmen under Lieutenant 
Baxter, and several soldiers of the Fort under Peter Cock — the whole under the 
direction of LaMontague, crossed over late in the evening, and having effected a 
landing, proceeded to reconnoiter the Island. They marched all night ; but when 
they came to the place where they expected to find the Indians, it was deserted. 
They burned the town and returned with the coin which they found in store, 
amounting to five or six hundred schepels. Staten Island, too, was included in the 
league formed by the Indians in 1644, when Mrs. Ann Hutchinson was murdered at 
Stamford, and Lady Mody at Gravesend. In 1643, also, Cornelius Meleyn, 
though he remained safe on his plantation, greatly feared their anger and expected 
to be attacked. 

In fact the colony was reduced to the brink of ruin. Many people did leave the 
country in ships which were returning to Holland fearing alike the indignation of 
the Indians and the mad imprudence of the Governor. It was the heaviest stroke 
which had at any time been dealt to the prosperity of the infant settlement around 
Fort Amsterdam. A little more and the whole future of the City of New York would 
have been changed. 

The Governor was affrighted himself at what he had done. He did not mean to 
reach such results. At first he endeavored to divert their minds, by sending out 
another expedition against the savages, but Adriensen, who conducted it, 
returned, and had only to tell how complete was the destruction of his own property 
at Hoboken. A delegation went to Long Island to prcpose friends-hip and proffer 
peace, but the Indians would not even hear them or receive them, crying in their 
ears from a distance, "Call ye yourselves our friends? You are nothing but corn 
thieves." 

The Governor now felt himself in trouble. It was enough to endure the 
reproaches of the poor settlers whom he had ruined ; but to have, beside this, 
heaped upon him the contempt of the Indians was humbling indeed to his pride, and 
for once his cruel and haughty spirit cowered under the load of his misfortune. 

To divert the popular attention from the consequences of his unwise conduct, 
Kieft seems to have thought a religious demonstration important. He accordingly 
proclaimed a day of fasting and prayer. " We continue (says he in his proclama- 
tion) to suffer much trouble and loss from the heathen, and many of our inhabitants 
behold their lives and property in danger, which is doubtless the const quences of 
our sins and then he exhorts " every one by true penitence and prayer.to supplicate 
God's mercy, so that His holy name may not be slandered among the heathen 
through our iniquities." This was fine talk, but it did not supply the wants of 
those whose all had perished in the flames of their farmsteads, nor prevent them 
from visiting upon the head of the author of their misery, the vituperation which he 
so richly merited. 



131 

The Governor was almost universall}' held responsible for the tnassacre of th« 
Shrovetide evening, and so high did the popular resentment rise, that many among 
the Burghers seriously meditated his forcible deposition. He now attempted to lay 
the blame of slaying the Indians on the men who presented the petition — Adriensen, 
Dam, Planck ; but this came near costing him his life. Adriensen armed himself 
with a cutlass and pistol, and breaking into his room, presented the weapons to his 
head, exclaiming with an oath, " what lies are these you have been telling about 
me?" The affair would not have ended without blood, had not De La Montague 
covered the pan of the pistol with his hand and turned the muzzle aside so that it 
missed fire. While Robert Pennoyer drew the cutlass from its scabbard and flung 
it out of the window ; together then they overpowered Adriensen, bound him and 
took him to prison. When his friends heard what had been done, they rose immedi ■ 
ately to the rescue. 

In an hour's time his son, armed with a gun and pistol and accompanied by 
another man, presented himself at the fort where Kieft at the time was walking. On 
seeing the young man, the Governor skulked and attempted to hide himself: but 
before he had time to effect it young Adriensen fired upon him, fortunately without 
effect, at least for the Governor, and then the young desperado was himself shot by 
the sentinel. A crowd of fiveand-twenty desperate men, now pressed upon the door 
of the apartment in which it was known that the Governor had concealed himself, 
and loudly demanded instant satisfaction for the life of the young man ; and it was 
with great difificulty that they were finally induced to withdraw, on the promise that 
the whole matter should be submitted to the citizens at large, and the friends of 
Adriensen should not be excluded from the meeting, nor refused the privilege of 
voting. In the end Kieft was universally condemned for his whole conduct in these 
troubles, and to avoid further difiiculty, referred the adjudication of Adriensen's 
■case to the Director at Amsterdam, whither he sent the prisoner with all the pa- 
pers. Adriensen was now a ruined man in more senses than oue, Still he 
returned afterwards to Manhattan, and had land granted him at Hoboken, and 
also some place farther up the river, probably at Fort Lee. He is sometimes 
called Vanderveer, and intimations are occasionally thrown out that his career pre- 
vious to his coming to New Amsterdam had not been inculpable. He had been in 
the West Indies. He was an enterprising, but also a violent, passionate, cruel man ; 
<iesperate in his courage and ready for any emergency. Whether any of his poster- 
ity survived him is not plain. 

When the spring opened, several efforts were made to secure a peace with all 
the Indians; and finally, after many discouragements, it was concluded in April. 
The speech of the one eyed chief on this occasion, is a beautiful specimen of uncul- 
tivated eloquence ; but we can not quote it now. The articles agreed upon by Capt. 
De Vries and Jacob Olfertysen, and signed by Gov. Kieft on the one part, and Ora- 
tatnin, sachem of the tribe at Ackkinkashacky, acting in behalf of the people of 
Tappan, Kickgawane, Kicktawank and Sintsink, is said to be in existence still in 
the State paper office at Albany. 

The benefils and security expected from a treaty so solemly made and confirmed 
were, however, of only short duration. The river Indians were not cordial in the 
commencement of the peace ; and Pachan, the crafty Chief of the Tauketikes, 
visited them and succeeded but too early in inducing them to unite in a league to 
destroy the Dutch at Manhattan ; and the war broke out anew before the summer 
had ended. First a boat was overhauled in the North River containing forty beaver 
skins, and William Coruelissen Coster, one of the men in it, killed. Then two 



132 

other boats were in succession overpowered ; but in attempting the fourth, one of 
the four Indians was slain. In these various encounters nine persons lost their 
lives and a woman and two children were taken into captivity. 

Then an old man and his wife were murdered in their own house. A settler at 
another time was wounded but escaped ; besides many others put to death who had 
been approached under the guise of friendship. This could not be permitted to 
proceed, and troops were raised and stationed as guards. These were attacked. One 
company consisting of five men and as many boys were assaulted at Achtercol, and 
t!ie hut which they had erected for shelter was burned over their heads. 

The farm of Jacob Stoeflfelsen was soon after visited, and although protected by 
a guard of soldiers, every one of the family, except his stepson, was murdered, and 
everything burned to the ground. Aerl Thettnissen, a planter at Hoboken, was 
also slain and his cattle and plantation destroyed. Murders, burnings and destruc- 
tions were again to be heard of almost every day. 

Nor were the settlers east of Manhattan any more safe. It raged as far as Stam- 
ford, where Ann Hutchinson, the celebrated Quakeress preacher, with her son and 
son-in-law, besides several others belonging to the families of Throgmorton and 
Cornhill, were put to death. The farm of Lady Moody, at Gravesend, L. I., was 
also attacked, but she escaped, having a guard of forty men to defend her. Even 
the outposts of the Fort on Manhattan Island itself were pressed upon, and Ensign 
Van Dyke shot through the arm. Every day the danger seemed to be becoming 
more and more imminent. Money and men were not to be had, at least not enough 
and was sought from New Haven in vain. Complaints were daily made of the 
plunderings and murders of the savages, which continuing unnoticed, increased the 
popular discontent and fear, and at the close of the year there seemed nothing 
before the establishment on Manhattan Island but complete ruin. 

When the spring of the next year, 1644, opened, the Governor began to bestir 
himself. Several expeditions were fitted out from the Fort to operate against the 
Indians. The first went to Staten Island where the Raritans had been committing 
depredations, and had cut off entirely all communications with the west end of the 
Kills. They marched all night, but when they came to the Indian camp it was 
abandoned, and they could only seize on a quantity of corn left behind. Another 
went to Greenwich and Stamford where Mayn Mayano, a stout and fierce chief, had 
attacked three men and slain one of them, but while engaged with the second, was 
himself shot by the third. 

This expedition, under Captain Underbill, had a desperate conflict of an hour 
or more, and in the burning of the town, 500 (some authorities say 700) human 
beings lost their lives. Only eight men of the whole settlement escaped, Fifteen 
of Underbill's men were wounded. This was the fiercest and most deadly conflict 
of the whole war, and had no small effect in preparing the minds of the Indians for 
peace. It showed them plainly that to carry it on would end in their ruin. They 
were no match for their enemies. 

Another expedition went to Long Island where Pennawitz, the sachem, was 
supposed to be playing a false game. 

But we cannot enter into details. A truce was formed this year, but seems to 
have been hollow and ineflBcient to stay the ravages of the savages, and for two 
years more the difficulties, internal and external, growing out of the imprudent 
conduct of the Governor, increased rather than diminished, until at last he was 



13S 

superceded. Stuyvesant, who succeeded hirn, adopted a peaceful policy and finally, 
after several delays and disappointments, succeeded in putting an end to all the 
Indian diflSculties in New Netherlands. 

Now the precise share of the Raritans in all these scenes, it is not possible to 
point out. They seem to have preserved for the most part a peaceful attitude, but 
it is too much to say that they were not concerned at any time in any of these wars, 
for they were, and individuals of the tribe may have been deeply implicated. 



CHAPTER VI. 



WE shall be able to give only a few more miscellaneous notices of the Raritans. 
Dwelling on the seaboard, and owning originally the whole of Staten 
Island, they seem to have been great devourers of oysters and voracious fish 
eaters. Large heaps of oyster shells on the Island, and at Amboy yet attest the extent 
to which they carried their love for the bivalves. In the season of fishing and oys- 
tering the seashore swarmed with the red men from the forest's far inland. Even 
the Minnisinks came doAU from their island in the Delaware, above the Water Gap, 
to the Shrewsbury river, to fish and gather oysters. In an old map, made as early 
as 1642, their path is marked out. It crossed the mountains by Culver's Gap, and 
thence came near Sparta, and north of Morristown to Springfield ; thence along the 
Rahway river, crossing the Raritan about four miles west of Amboy, passed by 
Middletown Point to Shrewsbury River. It was well travelled, and showed how 
often it had been used by the swift feet of the Miunisink warriors. 

The oysters of Amboy seem to have been famous for their excellency at an 
early period, not only among the Indians, but others who are better judges. Thomas 
Radyard, a London attorney, who was some deputy governor of East New Jersey, 
held them in great admiration. In a letter to a friend in England, dated May 30, 
1683, he remarks : " We have one thing more, particular to us, which is constant 
fresh victuals during the winter — to EagHsh as well as Indians — of these there are 
many all along our coast, from the sea as high as against New York, whence they 
come to fetch them." In another part of the same letter, referring to Amboy, he 
says: " Round about the point are oysters of two kinds — small as English, and 
others three mouths full — exceedingly good for roasting and stewing. The people 
say our oysters are good and in season all summer. The first of the third mouth 
(March), I eat of them at Amboy — very good." You can almost hear the good 
Quaker smack his lips — he expresses his admiration in such a hearty way. 

In the year 1647 the Raritans and Maliuekonks were very earnest in threaten- 
ing hostilities with Governor Stuyvesant, because the preseuts promised them at 
the conclusion of the peace had not been sent ; but it would seem he found some 
means to pacify them. 

1648 is the year when Beauchamp Plantagenet was in the country, and when, 
if he gives a true account, there were 1,200 under two kings on the Raritan. His 
estimate is wide of the truth, and yet it proves one thing — that they were considered 
a powerful nation of people at that time. 

In March, 1649, some of them committed violence at Achtercol, murdering 
Simon Vanderbilt, a resident there. His body being taken to New York for inter- 
ment, alarmed them and they fled to avoid the consequences. 

About this time they began to speculate in lands, finding it no doubt more 
profitable than fighting or robbing. It is on record that in 1650, they sold for the 
second time all the lands lying west of Staten Island and south of the North River 
(not a very definite description, by the by,) to Baron Vauder Capellan, for 163 
guilders — equal to sixty dollars of our money. 



135 

About the same time Cornelius Mele} n, the principal owner of Staten Island, is 
charged with having in his pay one hundred and seventeen savages from the Rari- 
tan, it is implied not for a good purpose, and the same year a Tappau Indian 
charged them with being in league with the Mohawks, to assassinate all the inhab- 
itants of Fort Orange and Rensellaerwyck, and it is probable that they were not 
blameless of the intention. 

In 1655 they formed part of a band of 900 (others say 500, and others still 200) 
savages, who, before daybreak, landed in New Amsterdam and distributed them, 
selves through the streets, broke into some of the houses, and committed other acts 
of violence. Their own account was that they were looking for Indians from the 
North, which they pretended to believe were concealed somewhere, but the truth 
was they meant to avenge the death of one of their women, who had been shot by 
Ensign Van Dyke, for stealing peaches from his garden. Towards evtuing they 
shot Van Dyke with an arrow in his breast and knocked down Captain Leendersten 
with an axe. They were then attacked by the Burgher corps, and driven to their 
canoes, leaving three of their number dead in the streets. 

Crossing over to Hoboken every house was set on fire, and soon the whole set 
tlement at Pavonia was in flames. With the exception of ft[ichael Jansen's family, 
every man was killed, and a large number of females and children taken prisoners. 
Flushed with success, they next crossed over to Staten Island, where, out of ninety 
souls, sixty-nine escaped, thirteen were slain, and the rest taken prisoners. During 
three days one hundred whites were murdered, one hundred and fifty taken prison- 
ers, more than three hundred deprived of food and clothing — twenty-eight boweries^ 
besides several small plantations, laid waste, ten thousand bushels of corn destroyed, 
and from five hundred to six hundred head of cattle killed, or driven off. The public 
consternation arising from these depredations and slaughters was almost as great as 
in Kieft's time, and ruin again threatened the devoted colony of New Netherlands- 

In 1659 difiBculties arose between the Raritans and the Manhattans, but no 
results are stated — probably the war which was declared between them was in some 
way prevented. In July, a band of Raritans murdered a family consisting of 
three men and one woman, at Mespathkill, (Flushing) Long Island, to obtain a 
roll of wampum which had been impruently shown to them. 

In August, 1660, they were represented at the general treaty negotiated by Gov 
ermr Stuyvesant, at Kingston. This treaty effected a permanent peace, and put an 
end to the Indian wars of New Netherlands. 

In 1663 some Hartford men came into the Raritan river with a sloop, for the 
purpose of trade. This was resisted by Stuyvesant and came near bringing on dif- 
ficulties between him and his English neighbors. He accused them of trying to pur- 
chase the land on the Raritan, and thus intruding on the colony of the Dutch. The 
fine lands on the Raritan evidently began to be coveted as a prize. 

This must have been among the last oflScial acts of the good old Governor for 
the next year, September 2, 1664, the colony of New Netherlands, with all its depen- 
dencies, surrendered to the English. 

In this same year, October 28, 1664, Governor Nichols granted permission for 
the purchase of land from the Indians in New Jersey. 

The two Dentons, Baily, Foster, Watson and others, came and settled Wood- 
bridge, Piscataway and Elizabethtown. Their deed from the Indians Mattano, 
Manawane, Conoscomon, chiefs on Staten Island, included a parcel of land, bounded 
south by a river commonly called Raritan, and on the east by a river which sepa- 
rates Staten Island from the main land, and to run northward up to Arthur Kull bay, 



136 

until you come to the first river which sets westward out of the bay aforesaid, and to 
run westward into the country twice the length that it is broad, from the north to 
the south. Out of this grant long and diflBcult controversies arose afterwards — it was 
so indefinite. 

There is another deed for the same lands, except that it extends west only to 
the Minnesink Path. 

Three years afterwards the Indians began to sell their lands on the seaboard and 
to retire towards the Delaware. 

In a few years only single families remained. The English and Scotch, who 
purchased the lands from them, soon came and took possession. It is said the first 
habitations were on the meadows on the riverside, one directly north of the resi- 
dence of Rynier H. Veghte (late of William Koehler, now J. B. Duke), and another 
near Henry Garretson's (now occupied by George H. Miller). They were "squat- 
ters " and had been attracted by the cleared or rather vacant corn lands left by the 
Indians thirty years before when they abandoned their wigwams and went down the 
river to Piscataway. 

An Indian named Keese lived for some years after this near the residence of 
Rynier Veghte (late John V. Veghte, now J. B. Duke), perhaps almost exactly where 
the granery formerly stood. He had two sons, Cornelius, named after Cornelius 
Tunison, and Locolosh. When they were boys, they were once playing with Peter 
Dumont, the grandfather of the late Peter and A. A Dumont. A dispute arose and 
one of the young Indians seized young DuMont and attempted to wring his neck, 
but Dumont kicked him over. The young Indian was hurt and came in crying 
loudly. Old Keese said it was a great pity as his son would never forget it, and some 
day would kill young DuMont and the whites here if the war should break out, but 
Keese died and his sons went away. 

After the revolution, while General Wayne was fighting the Indians in Ohio, a 
soldier from Redstone, Pa., who had been in his army, came to the late A. A. 
DuMont's father's house, and told of a very old Indian in Ohio who said he had 
lived on the Raritan, when he was young, and named several people whom he knew 
and conversed in the Dutch language. 

Just before the breaking out of the French war an Indian called " L,ong John," 
living near the residence of the late P. B. DuMont, (now William Snyder's), called 
upon his neighbor, and told him he was going away, and there would be war and 
thelndians would come and kill all the whites ; " but never mind," said he, " I will 
be along with them, and I will kill you ani keep them from scalping and torment- 
ing you." The old man, you may well think, did not relish very much such friend- 
ship, and, it is said, rounded off the communication by a Dutch curse, which we 
omit. 

At the gate of Hegaman Garretson (aow Paul T. Norton property), there was an 
Indian cemetery. The road n^w passes directly over it. A. A. DuMont said his 
father remembered when the graves were visible. The exact site of the village or 
settlemeat of the Indians on the Raritan is by tradition fixed on the river side south 
of where the road turns east, below R. H. Veghte's (late F. Wm. Koehler, now J. B. 
Duke) house. Metapes' wigwam was on the Green Brook, near the mountain ; 
perhaps where the DeGroot house afterward stood. 

After they had sold their lauds, the Indians of the Raritan returned to the west 
to Easton, Wyoming, Ohio, and finally to the Indian territory, 'where the tribe of 
Datawares is still preserved. Oae thing is not much to their credit in these later 
days. TheMingoes made women of them for their cowardice ; and after that they 
could never speak iu counsel until all: others had been heard. Not much to the 
credit of their bravery certainly, but they had become enervate. 



CHAPTER VII. 



As late as 1758 several of the Delaware tribe appeared at a council held at Cross 
wicks, in company with Todyascung, their king, and George Holyack, from 
the Susquehanna and made a claim to various tracts of land iu New Jersey. 
Their names were Tom Evans, Moses Totom3', Tom Shore, Stephen Calvin, Isaac 
Stelle, John Pompshire. Now it is enough to show how far they had ceased to be 
savages merely to recite their names. 

The religion of the Indians was that of nature. They acknowledged the exist- 
ence of a Great Spirit, the Creator of all things, but can hardly be said to have wor- 
shipped Him. Their idea of the Evil One was much more active and efficient. In 
necromacy and conjuring they had great faith. They preached it in connection 
with their medicine. Their doctors were great hypocrites and deceivers, pretenders 
to necromancy. 

Of mechanics they had scanty knowledge. Their horses, canoes, spears and 
bows and arrows were all of the simplest form. The bark of trees, brush, leaves and 
long grass, formed into mats formed the materials of their wigwams ; out of flint 
and the bones of fish they formed points for their spears and arrows, and a few cop- 
per knives of the rudest kind served for cutting. Their axes were rather skull- 
crackers, employed against their enemies, than intended to cut. The use of iron, 
or the way to procure it, seems to have been unknown until taught by the whites. 
There is no trace of it until after their intercourse with Europe. 

Their food consisted of the meat of wild animals, fish, corn, pumpkins, beans 
and berries. Corn they cultivated on the cleared land which here and there existed 
in the forests and on the banks of streams. It was eaten green, parched, and 
pounded- and boiled into mush. After they procured pots from the whites, one was 
always on the fire in the wigwam, when they had corn to pound and put into it. A 
hole in a stump or log, formed by burnirg the end of a stick and rubbing it and 
turning it on the place to be excavated, and a long stone was all they needed to 
prepare the corn for boiling. 

They clothed themselves in the skins of wild animals, shot with arrows or 
caught in traps and snares. In a word they existed as human beings will exist, 
without civilization, the mechanical arts or the knowledge of the use of metals. 
Nature was their only teacher. 

Their money was called wampum and consisted of beads formed out of the 
shells of clams and mussles Eight wampum beads or four black, passed in 1673 as 
equal in value to a stiver. Twenty stivers made one guilder — six pence sterling or 
one shilling American money, twelve and a half cents. 

White wampum was worked out of the inside of the great congue shell into the 
form of a bead and strung on a small cord. The back was made in the same way 
out of mussle or clam shell. 

Belts of these beads were woven as wide as the hand, and two feet or more in 
length, and given at the making of treaties as signs of friendship. On lesser occa- 
sions a single string was considered enough. Every bead having a known value, a 



138 

smaller belt could be made equal to a larger one by appending to it the necessary 
number of beads fastened on a thread or small string. 

Wampum was used extensively as currency by the Dutch fur traders in dealing 
with the Indians in early times. 

About 1750, before the opening of the French war, the Indians had all retired 
from the vicinity of the Raritan. They went, as we have said, first to the neighbor- 
hood of Easton, and then to Wyoming and Shamokin, and then to the Ohio. A 
remnant of the Delaware tribe to which they belonged is still in existence in the 
"Indian Reservation" west of Missouri, where the United States Government as- 
signed them a plot of land in contiguity to the Senecas, Tuscaroras and other 
eastern tribes. Retiring from New Jersey their name is finally lost from all the 
public records, and fades away imperceptibly from our thoughts and memory, and 
belongs only to the past. 

We give a final notice or two of their actions and their agencies in the progress 
of events. The following letter we find in an old periodical, entitled " The Ameri- 
can Magazine," printed at Woodbridge, N. J., dated October 28, 1758. 

"This day his Excellency, the Governor, returned from the treaty at Easton, 
where he had been attending with the Governor of Pennsylvania, near three weeks. 
There were present at the treaty, five hundred Indians, about two hundred of which 
were chiefs and warriors, and of thirteen different nations, namely the eight Con- 
federate Nations — the Mohawks, Onondagas, Senecas, Oneidas, Cayugas,Tuscaroras, 
Nanticokes and Conoys,now united into one ; and the Tuteloes, and five nations de- 
pendent on the Confederates — the Delewares, Unamies, Minisinks, Opings and 
Mohicons. There were also present two Indian messengers from the Indians settled 
on the Ohio, who brought a message in writing signed by fifteen chiefs of the Ohio 
Indians, expressing their desire to have peace with the English and their intention 
to acceei to this treaty. 

" The conferences were carried on with great harmony. The Indians solemnly 
promised to return all the English prisoners. A message was sent to the Ohio In- 
dians, accompanied by two English ofiicers, a chief of the confederates, and several 
other Indians, informing them what bad been done at this treaty, and inviting 
them to acceed thereto, and peace was solemnly ratified by a large peace belt, which 
was delivered by the two Governors to the confederate chiefs and by them handed 
round to all the Indians present. 

" In the course of this treaty, his Excellency, our Governor, satisfied all Indians 
that had or pretended to have any claims of lauds in the province of New Jersey, 
except E iglish or private rights ; and releases were therefore executed and acknowl- 
edged in the presence of the several chiefs of the confederate nations, who attended 
the same, and were afterwards published in open council ; and his Excellency, 
Governor Bernard, gave a large belt to the confederate chiefs, to be a perpetual 
memorial, that the province of New Jersey was now wholly discharged from all 
Indian claims." 

This set at rest all Indian claims within the bounds of our State, and one thing 
is to be remarked here, viz : That Niw Jersey paid honestly and fairly for every foot 
of land embraced in the bounds of our State. She is not and never was a trespasser 
on the rights of the aborigines — whatever those rights may be in a legal sense. 



CHAPTER VIII. 



IN the year 1832 a grant of 12,000 was obtaiued from the Legislature of New Jersey 
by an aged Indian representing the Delaware tribe. His name was Bartholo- 
mew S. Calvin. His appellation among his own people was " Shawuskukh- 
kung," or Wilted Grass. He had received his education at Princeton College and 
in early lite kept a school, both for whites and Indians, at Edge Pilock, where he 
was often visited by Mr. Samuel Allinson, author of Allinson's Laws of New Jersey, 
who considered him an intelligent and worthy man. 

The following is a brief summary of the nature of the claims on which this 
grant was founded, and the Delaware branch of the Lenni Lenappi tribe. 

When this country was first visited by Europeans, that part of New Jersey south 
of the Raritan was occupied by the Delaware Indians. Their right of ownership 
was recognized by the English, and large purchases were from time to time made, 
as the demands of the settlers required. Most of their lands were thus sold prior to 
the year 1758, when a treaty was held at Crosswicks, at which the whole of their 
remaining claims were extinguished, except a reservation of the right of fishing in 
all the rivers and bays, and of hunting on all unenclosed grounds. A tract contain- 
ing 3.000 acres was purchased for them at Edge Pilock, in Burlington county, where 
the scattered remnant of the tribe, amounting to only sixty persons, were settled. 
They continued here until 1802, when, at the invitation of their "Grandson," 
Stockbridge, they went to near Oneida Lake. Years rolled on until the westward 
tide of emigration had again surrounded them with a white population, whose cu- 
pidity rendered their situation very uncomfortable. At length, in conjunction with 
several other tribes, they purchased of the Menomonie Indians a tract of land near 
Green Bay, in Michigan Territory, extending a considerable distance on both sides 
of the Fox river. 

The Delawares and the Stockbridges here formed a joint settlement, called 
Statesburgh, and depended almost entirely on agricultural pursuits for a subsistence. 
A missionary and schoolmaster were sent among them by the Boston Missionary 
Society, whose labors were blessed, and a number of them became hopefully pious. 
Drunkenness became rare among them, and a temperance society in 1832 numbered 
upwards of 100 members. 

Of the Delawares there remained at the time in question, but about forty at 
Statesburg, and these, cherishing a tradition respecting their fishing and hunting 
rights in New Jersey, delegated B. S. Calvin to obtain from the Legislature compen- 
sation for their relinquishment. In presenting his claims he accompanied them 
with a petition in his favor, signed by a considerable number of respectable citizens, 
and the following address written with his own hand, he being then 76 years of age : 

ADDRESS 

My Brethren : I am old and weak, and poor, and therefore a fit representa- 
tive of my people. You are young, and strong and rich, and therefore fit represen- 
tatives of your people. But let me beg you for a moment to lay aside the recollec- 



140 

tions of your strength and of our weakness, that your minds may be prepared to ex- 
amine with candor the subject of our claims. 

Oar traditioa informs us, and I believe it corresponds wiih your records, that 
the right of fishing in all the rivers and bays south of the Raritan, and of hunting in 
all unenclosed lands, was never relinquished, but on the contrary was expressly 
reserved in our past treaty, held at Crosswicks in 1758. 

Having myself been one of the parties to the sale in 1801. I know that these 
rights were not sold or parted with. 

We now offer to sell these privileges to the. State of New Jersey. They were once 
of great value to us, and we apprehend that neither time nor distance nor the non- 
use of our rights, has at all affected them, but the courts here would consider our 
claims valid were we to exercise them ourselves, or delegate them to others. It is 
not, however, our wish thus to excite litigation. 

We consider the State Legislature the proper purchaser, and throw ourselves 
upon its benevolence and magnanimity, trusting that feelings of justice and liber- 
ality will induce you to give us what you deem a compensation. 

As we have looked up to the leading characters of the),United States (and to the 
leading characters of this State in particular) as our fathers, protectors and friends, 
we now look up to you as such, and humbly beg that you will look upon us with 
that eye of pity, as we have reason to think our poor untutored forefathers looked 
upon yours, when they first arrived upon our then extensive uncultivated domin- 
ions, and sold them their lands, in many instances, for trifles in comparison as 
" light as air." 

From your humble petitioners, 

BARTHor,OMEW S. Calvin, 

In behalf of himself and his red brethren. 

The whole subject was referred to a committee, before whom the Hon. Samuel 
L. Southard voluntarily and ably advocated the claims of the Delawares, and at the 
close of a speech which did him honor as a man and an orator, he remarked : *' That 
it was a proud fact in the history of New Jersey, that every foot of her soil had been 
obtained from the Indians by fair and voluntary purchase and transfer, a fact that 
no other State of the Union, not even the land which bears the name of Penn, can 
boast of." 

The committee reported favorablj , and the Legislature acted accordingly. The 
sum he received (|2,ooo) was indeed not large, yet it was all he solicited, and con- 
sidering the nature of the claims, it must be regarded as an act of beneficence as 
much as of justice. It was, however, but tlie crowning act of a series in which jus- 
tice and kindness to the Indians had been kept steadily in view. The counsel of 
Barclay and of Penn (the former a governor, and the latter a proprietor of the colony) 
seemed to have itfluenced their successors, and it is with feelings of honest pride 
that a Jersejman may advert to the fact, that the soil of his State is unpolluted by a 
battle with the Indians, that every acre of it has been fairly purchased, and that 
claims, deemed by many imaginary, have been listened to with respectful attention. 

The following letter of thanks was addressed to the Legislature by Calvin, and 

read before the two houses in joint meeting on the 14th of March. It was received 

with shouts of acclamation : 

Trenton, March 12, 1832. 

" Bartholomew S. Calvin takes this method to return thanks to both houses of 
the State Legislature, an i especially to their committees, for their very respectful 
attention to, and candid examination of, the Indian claims which he was delegated 
to present. 

" The final act of official intercourse between the State of New Jersey and the 
Delaware Indians, who once owned nearly the whole of its territory, has now been 
coDsumated, and in a manner which must redound to the honor of this growing 
State, and, in all probability, to the proli ngation of the existence of a wisted, yet 
grateful people. Upon this parting occasion, I feel it to be an incumbent duty to 



141 

bear the feeble tribute of my praise to the high-toned justice which, in this instance, 
and so far as I am acquainted, in all former times, has actuated the councils of this 
Commonwealth in dealing with the aboriginal inhabitants. 

" Not a drop of our blood have you spilled in battle — not an acre of our land 
have you taken but by our consent. These facts speak for themselves, and need no 
comment. They place the character of New Jersey in bold relief and bright exam- 
ple to those States within whose territorial limits our brethren still remain. Noth- 
ing save benisons can fall upon her from the lips of a Lenni Lenappi. 

"There may be some who would despise an India* benediction, but when I 
return to my people, and make known to them the result of my mission, the ear of 
the great Sovereign of the Universe, which is still open to our cry, will be pene- 
trated with our invocation of blessings upon the generous sons of New Jersey. 

" To those gentlemen, members of the Legislature, and others who have evinced 
their kindness to me, I cannot refrain from paying the unFolicited tribute of my 
heartfelt thanks. Unable to return them any other compensation, I fervently pray 
that God will have them in His hoi)' keeping — will guide them safely through the 
vicissitudes of this life, and ultimately, through the rich mercies of our blessed 
Redeemer, receive them into the glorious entertainment of His kingdom above." 

It ought not to be omitted that Calvin was educated at Princeton, at the expense 
of the Scotch Missionary Society, and there remained in the pursuit of his studies 
till the commencement of hostilities between the colonies and the mother country, 
when he shouldered his musket and marched against the common enemy. 

From the sentiments which the compiler of these notes respecting him has 
heard him express, he infers that the principles which he cherished in old age would 
not admit of taking human life in war. 



CHIMNEY ROCK, 

A Legend of the Raritan Indians. 



CHAPTER I. 



THERE is an ancient volume in the Historical Library at Philadelphia, entitled 
"A description of New Albion," written by Beauchamp Plantagenet, and 
published in 1648, in which you may read on page 22, the following sentence : 
" The seat of the Raritan King is said to have been called Mount Ployden by the 
English, twenty miles from Sand Hay Bay (Raritan Bay) and ninety from the 
ocean, next to Amara Hill, the retired Paradise of the children of the Ethiopian 
Emperor ; a wonder, for it is a square rock two miles in compass, one hundred and 
fifty feet high, a wall like precipice, a strait entrance easily made invincible, where 
he keeps two hundred for his guards, and under is a flat valley all plain to plant 
and sow." 

In another extract from the same work it is said that "there were 1,200 men 
under two Raritan Kings on the north side next to Hudson's river." 

The names of these two Kings we derive from their signature to a deed of sale 
or grant, of all the lands at present included in the Townships of Piscataway and 
Metuchen, made in 1677. They were Canackamack and Thingorawis. Now if 
you turn to Whitehead's History of New Jersey, at page 25, you will read as follows : 
" The Sanhicans (or Raritans, so called from Sanhican or Raritan Bay), the deadly 
enemies of the Manhatae (or Manhattans), but whom DeLaet characterizes as a bet- 
ter and more decent people, inhabit that part of the Province lying west of Staten 
Island." 

These veritable extracts from grave histories fix the locality, the date, and the 
circumstances of our tale. We will now request our readers to accompany us to that 
wild and romantic gorge in the mountain northeast of our village, through which 
Middlebrook (called in the Indian vernacular Rhaweighweros) flows, in its progress 
towards the gentle waters of the Raritan, We have entered the narrow sombre dell ; 
on our right hand rises the frowning precipice which is crowned by Chimney Rock ; 
on the left the Round Top slopes upward, covered with its cedars and vines. You 
pass on northward and soon come to a frowning precipice, "one hundred and fifty feet 
high," which seems to deny you any farther progress but as you approach, two nar- 
row glens open on the right and left, down which murmur the waters of the two 
branches, into which the wild mountain torrent here divides itself. You turn and 
look back, and you see the " strait entrance easily made invincible, and beyond a flat 
valley, all plain to plant and sow." Here, then, Canackamack and Thingorawis, 
the two Raritan Kings, with their " two hundred guards," must have dwelt, and this 
is the rock, which, according to Beauchamp Plantagenet, they had so fortified and 
guarded, as to render it invincible to the most vigorous attacks of their inveterate 
enemies, the fierce Manhatae, who, from their island fastness, were wont to set forth 
on their bloody predatory expeditions against their less warlike neighbors, and here, 
as well as on the plain below, could we look back, and with our keen gaze pene- 
trate the shadows of the past, would wesee many a deadly struggle, as foe met foe, 
arm clinched arm, and the strong right arm dealt deadly stroke with the dagger or 
the battle axe. 



145 

The feud between the Raritans and the Manhatae seems to have been of long 
standing. The origin of it went back to an earlier period of their history than 
that with which the white men were familiar. We have nothing but the dim light 
of tradition to guide us, but we shall endeavor to follow its clues, and relate dis- 
tinctly what it reveals and what originated the difficulty between the two nations. 
In the time of a former King, whose grandson and namesake, Capatamin, was a 
man of influence and authority in 1677, and whose nane also stands affixed to the 
deed above alluded to, a son of the King of the Manhatai and his party had fallen 
in with a similar party of Raritans on the shores of Staten Island. Both nations, 
being on friendly terms, were often led there by the fish which abounded in its 
coves and creeks and the oysters which they discovered among the sands when the 
tide was low. Strangers to each other they at first kept at a distance ; but after a 
few amicable signs had been exchanged, the young men of the two parties ap- 
proached one another and a friendly intercourse was soon established among them. 
They were mutually pleased as intercourse produced confidence, and the day was 
spent in fishing, and in the practice of various games and other athletic exercises, 
in which each strove to excel the other. The young chief of the Manhatae and the 
young chief of the Raritans especially became mutually interested ani attached to 
each other. They wrestled, ran. pitched the quoit, shot with the bow, and threw the 
javelin — they exchanged blankets and moccasins, and finally, in token of friend- 
ship, each took the name of the other. Thus several days passed away, and every 
hour increased their mutual affection. But finally it became necessary to separate. 
The party from the Raritan insisted on returning to the banks of their own stream, 
where their corn fields demanded their attention ; for the season was approaching 
when it would be absolutely necessary to gather the crop, and store it in pits under 
ground to preserve it for the winter's use. The young Manhata; insisted that his 
friend should accompany him to his Island home ; but to this the other objected, 
and in his turn proposed to the ardent young man to unite himself to them, and as- 
sured him, that if he would return with them, in his tribe, and especially in his 
father's wigwam, he would always find plenty and a hearty welcome. Friendship 
was more eloquent than prudence, and the young Manhatae determined to follow 
his friend to his mountain home. 

The first steps of the young men soon brought them to Amara Hill and the old 
chief opened not only his wigwam, but his heart to the generous youth, who in the 
confidence of friendship, had thrown himself into his hands, and made himself one 
with his people. He gave him the best bear skin for his couch, set before him all 
the delicacies of his lodge, directed the young •men of the tribe to honor him in a 
special manner, and in the end promi.'^ed him the hand of his only daughter, the 
blooming young Chinqueka, or Goldfinch, as his bride. All this wa,s peculiarly 
gratifying to the young chief ; it flattered his pride while it administered 
to his enjoyment. He became consequently from day to day more and more inter- 
ested in his new friends as he learned their customs, and wandered with them, now 
over the mountains in quest of wild game, then through the beautiful vales of the 
Raritan and its tributaries in pursuit of deer, or then again sought to entrap the 
finny tenants of its waters, as a luxury for the evening repast. But among all his 
pleasures none had such power to move his very soul and thrill every fibre of his 
body, as with a spark of electricity, as the bright eyes of the young Chinqueka, 
which never failed to welcome him with their flaming glances, when he returned at 
evening to her father's wigwam. It required no prophetic foresight or philosophy 
to tell what would be the effect upon two such young and trusting hearts, brought 



146 

into such an intimate relation, and permitted daily to enjoy the most full, free and 
confidential intercourse. That love would spring up and cement them together by 
its holy fires, so that nothing would be able to rend them asunder, was a most 
necessary consequence ; and so it happened. The youth and maiden learned to 
love, as noble, generous young hearts will love, with a deep, absorbing and uncon- 
trolled affection, and immediately a great change came over the young Manhatae. 
The chase began to be abandoned or less frequently sought — the finny tribe were 
sale in their quiet waters. The young men of the nation went forth to their pleas- 
ures or their duties, but the Manhatae chief preferred to remain at home, unless the 
young daughter of the king chose to accompany them, and then he was always the 
foremost to set forward, and the most ardent in every enterprise, sport or labor. 
It was only necessary for the bright eyes of the maiden to beam upon him, to restore 
him, when he became weary, to his morning vigor, or urge him on to the most dar- 
ing efforts to secure the flying game, or accomplish any other purpose which occupied 
his attention. These were happy days. The Indian summer had commenced, the 
sun rose bright and unclouded every morning — the air slept in the grove, and not a 
leaf fanned it into motion. The early frost had begun to clothe the mountain and 
the plain in all the gorgeous crimson and gold of the autumnal days The leaf was 
falling silently from its parent twig, and carpeting the woodlands in sober brown, 
and the young lovers gave themselves up to all the sweet sensations which sprang 
up so naturally in their hearts from the united influence of the season of the year 
and the sympathy of their souls. Think not that, uneducated as they were, they 
had no eyes for the beauties of nature, and that they could not sympathize as fond 
hearts do now in the refined circles of fashion. Every remain of the Indian shows 
him to have been an accurate observer of the grand and beautiful, and you have 
never stood upon a spot where he erected his lodge or planted his village without 
being forced to acknowledge it. Wherever there was a sheltered nook in the forest 
you might find him there ; or a sunny glade opened in the valley, there were the 
marks of his footsteps. He had the world before him from which to choose, and he 
deigned to appropriate to himself nothing but what was pre-eminently beautiful. 



CHAPTER II. 



IN the meantime the season was progressing and the calm bright days of autumn 
began to be clouded with storms. The frost wind scattered the leaves of the 
forest in copious showers in the vales ; the birds had flown away to their homes 
in the sunny South, and the quiet of these two confiding hearts was now about to be 
disturbed by the torrents of angry passion and the rage of jealousy, not in their own 
hearts, but in that of another. Manamsamitt, an inferior chief of the Raritans, had 
long fixed his daik eye upon the blooming maiden in the King's lodge, and formed 
a design of winning her for himself. He had indeed no reason to suppose, from the 
disparity of their ages and the gloomy and fierce temper which he had always man- 
ifested in the tribe, that he would easily find favor in her eyes. She had indeed long 
avoided him, apparently from an instinctive feeling of danger which pressed upon 
her heart whenever he was near, and a modest, conscious shrinking, which she felt 
under the boldness and earnestness of his passionate gaze. She seemed to penetrate 
clearly the sentiments of his heart, and like a timid fawn was ready to fly from the 
hunter. 

When the bold, fierce chief saw how the stranger had been domesticated in the 
King's lodge — with what kindness he was uniformly treated by all the young men 
of the tribe, and with what emotions of tenderness the eyes of the young maiden 
beamed whenever he was near, the fiercest passions agitated and raged in his soul. 
The very happiness of the lovers kindled his anger and stimulated him to action. 
But he knew that circumspection was necessary to attain this end ; and he quailed 
often while meditating his dark revenge when the eyes of the old chief rested upon 
him ; but the torment of his soul, mingling with fierce passion, urged him on to re- 
venge the imagined injury. 

He had now for several days settled his course of action. The life of the young 
stranger was to be a sacrifice to his jealousy, but he knew that in profound secrecy 
lay his only hope of success. He therefore endeavored to disguise his feelings, and 
assume an air of cheerfulness in his presence, as though all was well, and he him- 
self, like the other men of the tribe, rejoiced in the favor and happiness enjoyed by 
the stranger guest — but at the same time the necessity of doing this, imbittered his 
feelings the more, and made his fatal resolution certain to be executed on the first 
favorable opportunity, even thought it might cost him his life. 

Such an opportunity was furnished him sooner perhaps than he had anticipated- 
He was returning one evening later than had been his custom from a tiuntiug expe- 
dition on the plains below, and while making his way over that ledge of rocks where 
the little mountain torrent pours itself into the deep basin (known at present as the 
" well ") he discovered the lovers sitting on the brink of the precipice, gazing upon 
the limpid waters as they rolled over their rocky bed, like liquid pearls sparkling in 
the bright moonbeams. The first impulse of his dark soul was to send an arrow into 
the heart of his enemy while unconscious of the approaching danger, but the next 
moment he saw that he was discovered, and he hesitated to execute his fell revenge. 
He therefore returned the arrow to its quiver, and approached the young Manhalie. 



148 

Instantly the timid maiden rose and fled without once looking back, up the gorge 
of the mountain as rapidly as her light feet could carry her, but the young chief 
remained where he had been sitting as if unconscious, as he was in fact, of any evil 
purpose meditated against him. The dark savage slowly approached the place where 
he sat, and in his fierce scowl any other eye might have seen the deep passion of his 
soul and the danger of its object. He now stood before his victim, " And you are 
the young man (said he) who pretends to the hand of the old King's beautiful 
maiden. Do you not know that in winning her love you are destroying the hopes 
of stronger men than you are ? The young eagle may be ambitious to fly towards 
the sun, but let him beware lest the vulture cross the path of his flight and strike 
him to the earth," and raising the heavy battle axe which hung at his girdle he 
dashed it with all his might upon his skull, and in an instant his victim lay sense- 
less at his feet. Quick as thought he spurned him with his foot and rolled his bleed- 
ing body down into the deep chasm below, and the waters engulfed it forever. It 
was all but the work of an instant. His revenge was complete — his enemy no more — 
and the deep waters agitated for a moment now slept again in the soft moonbeams 
as perfectly as if they had never been disturbed. 

The fierce and gloomy savage gazed for an instant upon their placid face, frown- 
ing more deeply than ever, and then turned away and slowly sought his own lodge 
in the forest, where he laid himself down and slept. 

The night waned, the morning dawned, the maiden had sought the shelter of 
her father's lodge but slept not, for she thought of many evils, and more on account 
of the young chief's long absence. With the early light she was abroad, but her 
lover's footsteps, which she was accustomed to hear, her lover's voice, which had so 
often called her at early dawn, was silent. She explored the woods around in vain j 
she inquired finally of every passing member of the tribe, but no one gave her any 
tidings of the absent one. Slowly but deeply the conviction at length forced itself 
upon her heart that he was no more — that the dark chief, his silent enemy, bad 
murdered him there where they sat by the waterfall. Grief seized upon her soul, 
and now the bright eyes of the King's daughter, which had only glanced laughter and 
mirth, were constantly dimmed with tears. The maidens of the tribe sought to com- 
fort her but in vain. Her's was a grief that would not yield to comfort. In her 
father's lodge she sat from day to day a monument of sorrow. Weeping Niobe was 
not more impressive than the stricken maiden in her desolation and with her brokeu 
heart. 

The moon had waned and waxed and was now again pouring down a fl )od of 
silver light into the dark mountain chasm, and the autumn winds murmured their 
solemn dirge in the forest, and then came the daughter of the old King when the 
silence of midnight reigned all around, to visit once more the sacred spot where she 
had met her lover for the last time. Mournfully she sat herself down on the very 
rock where she had reclined with him on that last fatal evening ; long and silently 
did she gaze upon the sparkling waters of the mountain torrent as they rolled over 
their rocky bed, and fell into the deep chasm, and thought upon the lost one. At 
length she started suddenly from her seat. Was not that a voice which she heard, 
was it not the voice of her lost lover ? Did it not call to her from the deep, cold bed 
of that dark chasm, where his murdered body slept? Surely she could not be mis- 
taken. She knew the sweet accents of his voice too well, and should she hesitate, 
when he called, to join him there? 

The surrounding rocks echoed back the sound of a heavy body plunging from 
above — the waters dashed and foamed for a moment in their rocky bed, and then 



14f) 

slept again as placidly as if they had not been agitated, but the form of the Indian 
maiden had vanished from the precipice, and that form was never seen again ; it 
had disappeared forever from the King's lodge and from among the maidens of the 
tribe. When they were gathering the autumnal fruits, and when they sent the lighj, 
canoe dancing over the bright waters of the Raritan in pursuit of pleasure or for the 
purpose of ensnaring the finny tribe, she was not among them. Sincerely was her 
absence mourned but grief could not bring her back. Nor was it ever known 
where she slept in death. 

While these things had been transpiring at the seat of the Raritan King's, the 
anxiety of the old chief of the Manhatce had been increasing from day to day, until 
at last he could restrain his feelings and rest no longer. He determined to seek his 
lost son. The young men of the tribe were assembled in council, and the question 
was discussed in solemn conclave what was to be done to ascertain the cause of his 
continued absence. After each one had given his opinion, it was at last determined 
to send three of the most bold and active warriors of the nation to seek and bring 
back to his anxious parent tidings of his condition. They set forward imme- 
diately in one of their light canoes, under the direction of a guide well acquainted 
with the course of the waters. They soon made their way to the mouth of the 
Rhaweighweros, and from thence they sought on foot the mountain fastness of the 
Raritan tribe, and in due time presented themselves at the King's lodge. 

The whole sad tale was unfolded to them there, and with heavy hearts they 
returned to Manhattan to relate the evil tidings to their chief. When he had heard 
that his son was no more — that he had suddenly disappeared and never been seen 
again, the wrath of his dark soul raged fiercely. With stern determination he 
announced his resolution of holding the Raritans responsible for his life, and to 
wage war against them until the manes of his murdered spirit should be appeased by 
the death of his enemies. The warriors of the tribe were collected and sent forward to 
meet their foes, and then it was that the pleasant vales of the Raritan were made to 
echo continually with the war whoop, and its waters were often dyed with the blood 
of those who had fallen in the fierce and deadly strife. From year to year the 
revenge of the bloody Manhatae was pursued and all the fierce passions of their savage 
souls excited until they raged and burned. Many were slain on both sides but no 
decisive victory gained, and when the white men came, the feud was still continued 
and gave occasion to the remark which we have quoted from the historian of those 
early days, that " the Manhatae were the deadly enemies of the Raritans." 



WASHINGTON ROCK, 

Or Reminiscences of the Second Year of the Revo^ 

lution and its Hilitary Operations 

in Somerset County. 



CHAPTER I. 



ON the apex of the mountain in the vicinity of Dunellen is a large rock, so 
situated that from the top of it the whole range of country from Newark on 
the left hand, to Flemington on the right hand, is distinctly apparent to the 
naked eye, and with a good telescope every object of any magnitude, moving any- 
where between these two points within the range of vision, is readily visible to a 
spectator. There are very few places in New Jersey, or in any other State, where so 
large a range of view can be obtained. This is owing to the circumstance that all the 
country to the east and southeast, south and southwest, is a plain in which the only 
considerable elevations are the high points of Staten Island, the Navesink Hills, 
Rocky Hill and Rock or Shannick Mountain — over all the minor elevations the eye 
looks from its superior position. 

Tradition says that during the Revolutionary War, General Washington was 
accustomed to frequent this rock for the purpose of looking upon the plain belo a^. 
This is true as to the fact, and our object now is, to present in one view the circum- 
stances which gave rise to it, and describe some of the stirring scenes upon which 
he gazed with such intense interest frcm this mountain watch tower. 

The opening of the spring of 1777 may be designated as the most eventful period 
of the war. Perhaps the success of our revolutionary struggle was more intimately 
connected with the movements of that spring than any other during the whole 
seven years conflict. The balance seemed to be equally poised, and no foresight 
could tell which side of it would preponderate. The Commander-in-Chief knew and 
felt this, and during the preceeding winter, while at Morristown, he had deeply 
pondered his own responsibilities acd the critical nature of the interests of his 
country, committed to his control, and taken his measures accordingly. 

The spring of 1777 succeeded the taking of the Hessians at Trenton on the 25th 
of December, and the battle of Princeton, the 2d of January. After these events had 
occurred, Washington retired to Morristown with the main army, leaving a detach- 
meotat Pluckamin, and Lord Howe, the commander of the British forces, went into 
winter quarters at New Brunswick. The winter was one of intense severity, and the 
poor soldiers in their log huts suflfered greatly, not only from its inclemency, but for 
the want of suflBcient clothing and food. The spirit of the colonies had also been 
greatly depressed by the defeat of Lord Stirling on Long Island, the abandoning of 
the city of New York, the surrender of Fort Washington and Fort Lee, and the dis- 
astrous retreat of Washington across New Jersey, at the close of the preceding cam- 
paign. The victories of Trenton and Princeton, had, it is true, prevented the coun- 
try from coming to the conclusion that the great cause of freedom was totally lost, 
but still the prospects were considered as gloomy, even by the most sanguine. It 
was probably the darkest period of the whole war. The friends of liberty never 
trembled more. 

And now our tale commences, and Washington's Rock becomes a point of cen- 
tral interest. On its lofty summit the noble form of the American Fabius might be 
seen almost from morning until night, from the 28th of May until the middle or 



15:^ 

end of June, his eye directed to the plaiu below, scannicg with intense interest, by 
the aid of his powerful telescope, every moving object, as if the fate of his country 
depended upon his knowing the design with which it was stirring there; and if we 
could reveal also the secret workings cf his soul, we should be obliged to record 
many a fervent prayer, sent up to heaven from this mountain solitude, in those 
lonely hours which he spent there, that heaven would aid his country's cause, and 
prosper his exertions to maintain her liberties. Sublime spectacle ! What sanctu- 
ary more fit for the worship of such a spirit ! And who is not reminded of the 
prophet and leader of the hosts of the Lord on the top of Horeb. Is there anything 
irreverent in the association ? 

The far seeing mind of the American commander clearly perceived that the 
campaign of 1777, so far as the enemy was concerned, would embrace three points — 
an attempt on the part of Burgoyne to penetrate from Canada to the Hudson, the pro- 
tection of New York on the part of Lord Cornwallis,who had succeeded Howe in the 
command of the British forces, and an attempt on the city of Philadelphia. His busi- 
ness was to frustrate all these designs. With tbis view, he strengthened the American 
forces at Peekskill and West Point, and threw additional troops into the fortress at 
Ticonderoga, early in the spring; and on the 28th of May the camp at Morristown was 
broken up, and the main army entrenched between the mountains north of Middle- 
brook, that he might the better act against Cornwallis either at New York or Phila- 
delphia. It was at best but a feeble band in comparison with the numerous and well 
disciplined forces against which it was called to contend, which Washington com- 
manded. The effective rank and file amounted only to 5,738, but besides the small 
numbers composing it there were elements of weakness in the army itself. A large 
portion of it were foreigners ; many of them servants, upon whose attachment to 
the American cause it was not safe to depend. This was known to the enemy, and 
to avail himself of this unfavorable circumstance. General Howe had offered, some 
months previous to this time, a large reward, by proclamation, to every soldier who 
would desert, and an additional compensation to those who would bring with them 
their arms and equipments. 

The effect of this proclamation had been seriously felt, and its future influence 
was to be greatly dreaded. To meet this, and allure from the enemy those misguided 
Americans who had engaged with them, and might now be desirous of returning <o 
the cause of their country, Congress, on the recommendation of Washington, had 
passed a resolution, giving all the advantages of freemen to the servants who had 
enlisted in their armies, and offering a full pardon to all the Americans who would 
quit the service of the British and take the oath of allegiance to the colonies. 

To protect the city of Philadelphia, General Arnold was early in the season 
directed to form an army of militia, strengthened by a few continental troops, on 
tbe east side of the Delaware, and be prepared to defend in frout the passage of that 
river should it be attempted. 

General Sullivan was encamped at Princeton with a body of continental troops, 
increasing daily by recruits from the south, and apart of the militia of New Jersey. 
His orders were to hold himself in perpetual expectation of an attack, to send his 
baggage and provisions to a place of security, and be in readiness to move at a nio 
ment's warning, to preserve a communication with the main army at Middlebrook, 
by no means to risk a general engagement, but to act as a partisan corps and on the 
first movement of the British army from New Brunswick, after having placed his 
main body in safety, to annoy them by detaching parties for that purpose. The 



154 

militia of New Jersey were also called out, and instructed to hang upon the main 
body of the enemy, and by ranging the conntry in small parties, harass their flanks 
and rear, and injure them as much as possible. 

This was the state of affairs in New Jersey at the end of May, 1777, and we can 
now lay before our minds this part of the State, as a chequered-board, upon which 
we may trace the movements in this interesting period of her military history which 
we are reviewing. The possession of Philadelphia was the object to which the 
eyes of the British Commander were turned. He had originally designed to attain 
this end by marching through New Jersey and crossing the Delaware by means of a 
portable bridge, constructed for that purpose during the winter, but the delay experi- 
enced in the arrival of his tents and camp equipage from Europe, and the early 
organization of the American army, and especially the favorable position in which 
Washington had posted it at Middlebrook, induced him to change his plan of opera- 
tions, in case he could not induce the Americans to abandon their post, and attempt 
Philadelphia by way of the Delaware at Chesapeak bay. First, however, this was to 
be tried. Accordingly he determined upon making a demonstration of reaching his 
object by land. Washington penetrated his design, and to strengthen himself, 
summoned to his aid all the troops at Peekskill, with the exception of one thousand 
effective men, left in charge of that post, and in the meantime organized a select 
corps of riflemen, under Colonel Morgan, and posted them on the south side of the 
Raritan, on the rise of ground between the residences of John Garretson and Caleb 
Brokaw, with orders to watch the left flank of the British army, and in case any 
movement was made, to gall and harass them as much as possible, but to take 
special care not to permit himself to be surrounded or to have retreat to the main 
army cut off. Sullivan was ordered to leave his camp at Princeton, and immediately 
occupy the high grounds of Rocky Hill, as a place of greater security and more 
advantageous for action. 



CHAPTER II. 



ON the 14th of June General Howe, leaving 2,000 men at New Brunswick, made 
his contemplated demonstration, and advanced towards the Delaware in 
two columns, hoping to induce General Washington to quit Middlebrook, 
and bring on a general engagement on ground more favorable to his enemies than 
that which he now occupied in his strongly fortified camp. The front of the first 
column reached Millstone by break of day, by the old road on the north side of the 
river, crossing it in the neighborhood of Bound Brook, and the .other, under Gen- 
eral De Heister, arrived at Middlebush about the same time, by way of the main 
road leading thence to New Brunswick. The feint was unsuccessful. Washington 
posted his whole army on the first intelligence of this movement, on the mountain 
top in front of his camp and over-looking the valley of the Raritan, wailing during 
the whole day for the attack and the soldiers sleeping on their arms at night. But, 
like an eagle in his mountain home, refused to descend from his eyrie and stoop even 

upon a prey so noble. 

The whole mountain bristled with steel and echoed the tread of armed men. 
How striking the contrast of that day to the peaceful quietude in which it always 
seems to sleep in our view. General Sullivan retired from Rock Hill and posted 
himself behind Shannock mountain in the vicinity of Clover Hill, where he was 
joined by the militia of the State, in great numbers, who turned out with alacrity in 
defense of their homes and their native soil. 

Finding that Washington could not be drawn from his position Howe, after 
taunting him for five days, determined to waste no more time in threatening Phil- 
adelphia by land, but to pursue energetically the main object of the campaign, and 
immediately embark his army for the Chesapeake or Delaware. Accordingly, on 
the 19th of June, he returued during the night to New Brunswick, and on the 22d to 
Amboy, where he threw over the Kills the bridge prepared for crossing the Dela- 
ware, and passed over the heavy baggage of his army and a few of his troops to 
Staten Island. His retreat was conducted with some marks of haste and precipita- 
tion, as if uncertain what might be the course of Washington and not exactly, after 
all, liking to meet him except when perfectly prepared-and its course was.marked 
by 'the smoking ruins of the farm houses on the route, the usual concomitants of the 
march of a British army during the Revolution, and not by any means to the praise 
of their magnanimity or humanity. 

Washington again anticipated the design of the enemy, and immediately de- 
tached General Greene with three brigades to fall on and annoy the rear of the 
British corps in their march. Sullivan was ordered to leave Clover Hill and coop- 
erate with Green ; and General Maxwell was directed to harass the flanks of the 
moving column, while the Commanderin Chief paraded the main army on the 
heights of Middlebrook, prepared to act as circumstances might dictate. 

Colonel Morgan, with his prompt alacrity, at sunrise on the morning of the 22d, 
attacked and drove in a picket guard near New Brunswick. This alarm induced the 
enemy to throw themselves into some redoubts on the hill west of the to«n, which 



156 

they soon evacuated on the approach of Wayne and Morgan, and immediately com. 
menced their retreat to Amboy. Some sharp skirmishing took place between them 
and Morgan's rifle corps, but the hope of any decisive advantage was disappointed 
by the guarded manner of the retreat. Sullivan, on account of his distance from the 
scene of action, and the lateness of the hour when he received his orders, was unable 
to come up in time, and the express sent to General Maxwell, at Morristown, either 
deserted to the enemy or was taken, so that he received no orders, and the rear of 
the British army being too strong for the force acting against it, the retreat to Amboy 
was eflfected without any considerable loss, or any impression being made upon their 
ranks. 

In order to cover his light parties, which hung on the British flank and rear, and 
to harass and cut off any stragglers on the march, General Washington, when he 
saw from his mountain rock the whole army in full progress to Amboy, left his 
strong position at Middlebrook, and advanced as far as New Market with the main 
body of his forces, while Lord Stirling, with his division, which was in advance, 
proceeded as far as Metucben meeting house, with a design of co-operating with 
Colonel Morgan and the other light troops, which were on the lines, should an 
opportunity offer for an attack. This was the state of things on the 24th. 

General Howe, perceiving these movements of the American Commander, 
thought it possible either to bring on the general engagement which he sought, or to 
turn the flank of the American army and gain possession of their strong position upon 
the heights. In either case, he hoped for such decided advantage as to enable him 
to prosecute with success his designs upon Philadelphia without any further moles- 
tation. With this view, on the night of the 25th, he recalled the troops which he 
had on the 23d sent over to Staten Island, and early next morning made a rapid 
movement towards Westfield in two divisions. The right, under command of Corn- 
wallis, marched by the road to Woodbridge, as far as Scotch Plains ; the left, led by 
Howe in person, came by the way of Metuchen meeting house, and falling into the 
rear of the right column, formed a juncture with it. The plan was, that after form- 
ing this juncture, they were again to saparate, the left attacking the Americans at 
New Market, and the right, defiling towards Plainfield, gain the mountains behind 
that village, while they were engaged, and so force the Americans from their forti- 
fied camp and oblige them to fight on equal terms. To support this important and 
well concerted movement of the British General, four battalions, with six pieces of 
cannon, were also detached and stationed at Bonhamtown, between New Brunswick 
and Amboy. 

But the whole was frustrated by the foresight of Washington and that kind 
Providence which watched over the destiny of our now happy land. Lord Corn- 
wallis fell in with one of the light parties which had been directed to watch the 
motions of the British army, early in the day at Woodbridge. They immediately 
communicated the circumstances to Washington, and possibly he was then on his 
watch tower on the rock and saw all that was passing on the plain below him. At all 
events he immediately ordered the army to fall back, and regain as soon as possible 
their position at Middlebrook. Lord Cornwallis, also, on his route encountered 
Stirling, and a severe skirmish ensued, in which the Americans lost three field 
pieces and a few men, and retreating to the hills southeast of Scotch Plains, were 
pursued as far as Westfield. Here the whole British army (the two columns of 
which had united in pursuit of Stirling, when they saw that Washington with his 
usual foresight had escaped from the snare laid for him) halted to reconnoitre, and 
settle the plan of their future movements. Perceiving all the passes in the moun- 



157 

tains to be so strongly guarded as to preclude the hope of carrying any of them, and 
even then, their General not feeling exactly willing, with all his ardor for battle, to 
risk an engagement with the Americans in their mountain fastness and consequently 
seeing that the object for which the whole of this skillful movement had been 
planned and executed, had failed, the British General reluctantly confessed himself 
beat, and returned silently through Rahway to Amboy. But Washington deter- 
mined to keep his eye on him and sent Scott and Conway, each with a brigade, to 
watch his movements, but no opportunity was given to them to effect any thing, and 
on the 30th of June, when the whole army passed over to Staten Island, they entered 
Amboy, while the rear guard of the British was in the act of leaving it. 

Such were the busy scenes which were enacting in the counties of Middle- 
sex and Somerset in June, 1777. Armies were marching and countermarching 
through them almost daily, while the vast interests depending on every movement 
filled the minds of the actors as well as the inhabitants with the most intense anxi- 
ety. How strongly they contrast with those which we now witness, while peaceful 
industry is pursuing her avocations in the most perfect security, active commerce 
moves in her accustomed channels without molestation, and pleasure and fashion 
are seeking the very spots which they have hallowed, to while away a lingering day 
or amuse a tedious hour. Even the memory of them is growing scarce, for only two 
or three remain alive who witnessed any part of them, while their deeply interest- 
ing history is laid aside by the shallowness and superficiality of our cotemporaries, 
for the tale of sentiment, or the exciting fiction. How many parties of pleasure 
have gone to Washington's Rock without knowing when and why the Father of his 
country made it a place of resort, or what he gazed upon from that lofty watch tower. 

Cornwallis, after remaining until the middle of July on Staten Island, finally 
embarked all his troops and sailed to the Chesapeake. Washington remained some 
days in his camp at Middlebrook, and then, when he received the news of Burgoyne's 
approach to Ticonderoga, moved the main body of his army to Morristown, and ad- 
vanced Sullivan as far as Pompton Plains, and then again advancing Sullivan to 
Peekskill, he himself took position at Pompton, and on the i6th of July removed to 
the Clove. But as soon as Cornwallis sailed with his army to the South, Washing- 
ton, kaowing that his design was to attack the city of Philadelphia, from the way 
either of Delaware Bay or the Chesapeake, moved his army immediately to the scene 
of action. These active operations in the month of June were succeeded before the 
close of the year by the battle of Brandywine, on the nth of September, and the fall 
of the city the 26th of September, as the consequence of the loss of that field by the 
Americans, the battle of Germantown on the 4th of October, and the capturing of 
Burgoyne on the 17th of the same month, at Saratoga, by the arms of Schuyler and 
Gates — we say, designedly, Schuyler, for to him, in fact, is due all the praise of that 
brilliant campaign of the Northern army. Gates succeeded him only when the work 
was in fact done, a few days previous to the capture ; and it is perfectly understood, 
that even after he joined the army, though he enjoyed all the honor of the victory, 
he, in truth, contributed but little towards securing it. But we draw the curtain here 
and leave our readers at Washington's Rock, to muse upon the past and commune 
in their hearts with those mighty spirits which once frequented it and made it a hal- 
lowed spot. 



I^IST OF 



Officers and Freeholders 



In Somerset County in 1790. 



LIST OF OFFICERS AND FREEHOLDERS 

In Somerset County in 1 790. 



Following is a list of the Public, State and County Offiers and other male Free 
holders in the several Townships and Precincts of the County of Somerset, on April 
24, 1790 : 

BERNARDS TOWNSHIP. 

Cols. Ephriam Martin, Representative in Council ; James Linn, Major and 
Esquire; Joseph '^nniu, Esquire; David Kelly, Esquire; John Manniog, Jacob 
Rickey, Henry Southard. 



Annin, Samuel 
Adams, Charles, Jr., 
Adams, Charles, Sr., 
Alword, Henry 
Alword, William 
Alword, Samuel 
Annin, John 
Annin, William 
Annin, Alexander 
Alword, Benjamin. 
Baird, William 
Boyland, James 
Burt, Nathaniel 
Bishop, James 
Breeze, Stephen 
Burnet, David. 
Coon, Benjamin, Jr. 
Coon, Aaron 
Compton, Rebuen, Jr., 
Compton, Andrew 
Clark, Robert 
Cadmas, Andrew 
Commons, William 
Cross, Robert 
Cross, John 
Cain, John 
Coscid, Anthony 
Coryel, David, Sr., 
Coals, Joseph 
Colyer, Thomas 
Crain, Isaac 
Douglass, Insley 
Davison, Peter 
Drake, Jeremiah 
Drake, William, Jr., 
DeCamp, Henry 
Dennis, Robert 
Doty, Zebulon 
Doty, Henry 
Dunn, Jonathan 
Enyett, Benjamin 
Ford, William 
Frearey, William 
Grant, Abm. 



Allen, David 
Allen, Joseph, Jr., 
Allen, Joseph, Sr , 
Allen, Gideon 
Allen, Jacob 
Allen, Peter 
Allen, Samuel 
Armstrong, David 
Armstrong, John 
Boyd, Willialm 
Braishre, Christopher 
Boyer, Peter 
Browu, Edward 
Breeze, Azariah 
Biddle, Jacob 
Conklin, William 
Coon, Levy 
Compton, James 
Compton, Jonathan 
Canfield, Jacob 
Clark Jeremiah 
Cairl, Jonas 
Courton, Benjamin 
Cross, Robert, Jr., 
Cross, William 
Cain, James 
Coryel, David, Jr., 
Costner, Peter 
Coals, Dennis 
Cory, Samuel 
Chanler, John 
Douglass, Samuel 
Drake, Andrew, Jr. , 
Drake, Ebenezer 
Dorly, John 
DeCamp, Aaron 
Dennis, Robert, Jr., 
Doty, Daniel 
Dunster, James 
DeCheverdeco, Henry 
Enyett, Samuel 
French, David 
Grant, George 
Giddas, Jeremiah 



Ayres, Elisha 
Ayres, David 
Ayres, Jonathan 
Ayres, John 
Ayres, Joseph 
Ayres, Nathaniel 
Ayres, Richard 
Alexander, Samuel 
Andrew, Robert 
Burges, Thomas 
Britain, John 
Boyels, John 
Btebout, Peter 
Breeze, John 
Bowers, Stephen 
Coon, Benjamin 
Coon, Joseph 
Compton, Reuben, 
Compton, Job 
Clark, David 
Clark, James 
Coleman, Leonard 
Courton, John 
Cross, Samuel 
Cross, William, Jr., 
Cain James, Jr., 
Coryel, Elias 
Coals, William 
Coals, James 
Cooper, George 
Covert, Thomas 
Dayton, Robert 
Drake, Andrew 
Drake, William 
Dorly, William 
Dsnnis, Joseph 
Dickson. Christopher 
Doty, Skilman 
Devore, Hendrick 
Dunham. Tehue 
Elston, Samuel 
Frearey. Jacob 
Grant, David 
Giddas, Asher 



161 



Giddas, John 
Hill, Edward 
Hall, Richard 
Hand, William 
Homier, Leonard 
Johnston, Albert 
Kirkpatrick, Alexander 
Kirkpatrick, Thomas 
King, David 
Kelly, Charles 
Ludlow. John 
Lewis, Edward 
LethoQ, Robert 
Laine, Isaac 
Little, Robert 
Manning, Isaac 
Martin, Squier 
Maxwell, Isaac 
Millegan. William 
Miller, Moses 
Miller, Thomas 
Moore, Isaac 
McEowen, Doctor 
Marshal, James 
Nisbert, Robert 
Neavils, Charles 
Penetent, Jonathan 
Potter, Jabish 
Paru, Malveu 
Parker, Isaac 
Riggs, Thomas 
Rogers, Simeon 
Rouple, Baltus 
Shotwell, Jacob 
Scudder, Thomas 
Sebring, Folkert 
Sears, Parsons 
Smalley, John 
Smalley, Jonas 
Smith, Abram 
Simpson, William 
Todd, David 
Thorn, Abm. 
Tingley, Joseph 
VTunison, John 
Tucker, John 
Trimbley, Jacob 
Vail, James 
Van Strand, Jacob 
Van Tile, Abram 
Van Tile. Otho 
Wooden, Ezra 
Workman, John 
Wright, John 
Watkins, Joseph 
Whitaker, Nathaniel 
Williamson, Aaron 



Gathy, Thomas, 
Hill, William 
Harris, William 
Haydon, Richard 
Jackson, Richard 
Johnston, James 
Kirkpatrick, Andrew 
Kiddar, Wildeen 
King, David, Jr., 
Kelley John 
Ludlow, Cornelius, 
Lewis, Edward, Jr., 
Lines, Henry 
Lambert, David 
McCoy, Capt. Jas. 
Manning, Isaac, Jr., 
Martin, John 
McMutrey, Robert 
McColm, Moses 
Miller, Eph. 
McCarril, Dan'l 
Miseuor, Christopher 
McEowen, Hugh 
Moffet, Samuel 
Njble, George 
Oliver, John 
Penetent, John 
Pound, John 
Parkerson, Robert 
Rickey, Israel 
Roy, Joseph 
Khinehart, Henry 
Ruckman, Jonathan 
Shotwell, Samuel 
Stiles, William 
Sutton, Ephraim 
Sears, Samuel 
Smalley, John, Jr. 
Smalley. Isaac 
Smith, Cornelius 
Swan, Jedediah 
Todd, Joseph 
Triphagen, David 
Tone, John 
Thorp, Benjamin 
Tucker, James 
Vail Benjamin 
Vail, Jacob 
Voorhees, James 
Vinagar, John 
Van Tile, Isaac 
Woodward, Nathaniel 
Wilson, Hopewell 
Wood, Clement 
Watkins, Jonathan 
Whitaker, Stephen 



Helm, Robert 
Hall, John, 
Hinds, Samuel 
Houk, Philip 
Jeffers, Jeremiah 
Johnston, Samuel 
Kirkpatrick, David 
King, ^larkus 
Knapp, Elijah 
Kelly, Samuel 
Lewis, John 
Lyon, David 
Layton, John 
Lowes, James 
Manning, John 
Manning, Joseph 
Morris, Lewis 
Morse, Doctor 
Miller, Jonathan 
Miller, Benjamin 
Moore, Reuben 
McConuel, Andrew 
Mealick, Philip 
MoflFet, William 
Neavils, John 
Parker. Azariah 
Potter, Samuel 
Pangborn, Richard 
Parker, Job 
Randolph, Gilbert 
Riteuvior, James 
Rcseboom, Garret 
Sutton, Reverend 
Seaver, John 
Stilsn, John 
Sutton, Peter 
Smalley, David, Captain 
Smalley, James 
Sanders, Joseph 
Southerland, David 
Stewart, David 
Todd, John 
Tingley, Jacob 
Taylor, Richard 
Tucker, Henry 
Trimbley, Benj. 
Vail Daniel 
Van Mule, Cornelius 
Vantile. John 
Van Sickle, Abram 
Van Mule, Frederick 
Woodward, Oliver 
Worth. John 
Willette. Jonathan 
Webster, Taylor 
Whitaker, Jonathan 



BEDMINISTER TOWNSHIP. 



Robert Blair. Esquire; Thomas Berry, Esquire; Robert Gaston, Esquire 
Major Richard McDonald, John Boylan, Guisbert Sulfin, John Workman. 
Arrrowsmilh, Nicholas Allen, Robert Allen, Robert, Jr., 

Allen, John Andrew, Robert Awble, William 



162 



^ 



Boyd, William 
Barkley, John 
Bryan, John 
Brokaw, Gasper 
Caulshen, Peter 
Clawson, Jacob 
Dunham, David 
Decker, Peter 
Demott, John 
Emmins, Jerome 
Filmely, Jacob 
Henry, Robert 
Herriott, Alford 
Hageman, Adrian 
King, Thomas 
Linn, John 
Lawrence, Daniel 
Lane, Garret 
Lane, Peter 

McKissack, Wm., Doct. 
Mullen, Jas. 
McDowell, John 
Nevies, Peter 
Porter, Nathaniel, Capt. 
Potter, Isaac 
Powelson, Abm. 
Row, Jacob 
Sutton, John 
Sutfin, Guisbert, Jr., 
Traphagen, David 
Todd, John 
Thorp, Ezekiel 
Taylor, Jacob 

unison, Abm. 
Van Deventer. Christopher 
Van Doren, Guisbt. 
Van Arsdalen, Wm. H. 
Van Tine, Cbas. 
Voorhees, John 
Whallen, John 
Wilson, Jacob 
Workman, Andrew 



Barkley, Hugh 
Barkley, John, Jr., 
Bird, Andrew 
Brown, Abraham 
Chapman, Robert 
Comton, Benjamin 
Deforest, Isaac 
De Yvoome, George 
Elstone, Thomas 
EoflF, Christopher 
Filmely, Christian 
Henry, William 
Hunt, Stephen 
Hageman, Simon 
King, George 
Linn, Joseph 
Lane, Matthew, Capt. 
Lane, Matthias, Sr., 
Lane, Matthew, Jr., 
Mealick, Aaron 
McDonald, William 
McDowell, Matthew 
Nevies, Albert 
Porter, James 
Potter, Samuel 
Powelson, Hendrick 
Sloan, Henry 
Sutton, Jonathan 
Smith, William 
Todd, William 
Todd. John (weaver) 
Teeple, John 
Taylor, John 
Van Derveer, Jas. 
Van Doren, Jacob 
Van Dike, Jas. 
Van Nest, Cornelius 
Van Kirk, Saml.-— 
Voorhees, RuliflF 
Webb, Matbias 
Wilson, William 
Workman, Peter 



Barkley, Robert 
Bailey, Hugh 
Bird, Morris 
Bunn, Martin 
Chivers, William 
Dunham, Benerd 
Dorn, Joseph 
Demood, Peter 
Emmins Abraham 
Field, Hendrick 
Gaston, Hugh 
Henry James 
Hudson, Nathaniel 
King, Nathan 
Logan, William, Capt. 
Low, Cornelius 
Lane, Cornelius 
Lane, John 
Lane, Aaron 
Mealick, Daniel 
McDonald, Wm., Jr., 
Nevies, Christopher 
Parker, James 
Pheenix, Ralph 
Perine, Peter 
Powelson, Cornelius 
Sutton, Amos 
Sutton, Levy 
Smily, John 
Todd, Samuel 
Todd, George 
Teeple , Peter 
Ten Eyck, Jacob, 
Van Deventer, Jacob 
Van Doren, Aaron 
Van Arsdalen, Philip 
Van Nest, Abm. 
Voorhees, Hance 
Voorhees, Abm. 
Willett, William 
Wolf, Jacob 
Workman, Peter, Jr. 



BRIDGEWATER TOWNSHIP. 

Sheriff, William Wallace, Esq. Benjamin Blackford, Peter Dumont, John Se- 
bring. 



Appleman, David 
Arrowsmith, Thomas 
Amerman, Paul 
Bolmer, Robert 
Bogart, John, Jr., 
Brown, John 
Boys, James 
Bertron, Abraham 
Blackford, Joseph 
Brokaw, Bergen 
Bennet, Henry 
Chambers, Roland 
Clark, William 
Cox, Phillip 
Coon, Peter 



Appleman. John 
Amerman, Abm. 
Auten, George, 
Bolmer, Abraham 
Beekman, Henlrick 
Brown, Abm. 
Bishop, Saml. 
Bunn, Edward 
Brocaw, Abrm. 
Brocaw, John 
Bush, Danl. 
Cooper, Thomas 
Cox, James 
Coryel, Elisha 
Chandler, John 



Anderson, Jas, 
Amerman, Danl. 
Auten, John 
Bogart, John 
Brown, Jacob 
Bowman, Richard 
Beem, Henry 
Blackford, Danl. 
Brocaw, Benjamin 
Brocaw, John, Jr. 
Bush. John 
Clark, Jeremiah 
Cox, Isaac 
Coon, Moses 
Chanler, Peter 



163 



Cline, Jacob 
Comptou, Joseph 
Costner, Danl., Jr., 
Conet, Benjamiu 
Cornelison, Cornelius 
Deryea, John, Rev. 
Dumont, John B. 
Dumont, Albert 
Dinnis, John 
Dumot, Derick 
Drew, Thomas 
Dunham, Abm. 
Dow, Derick 
Davis, Peter 
Eoflf, Robert 
Frazer, Christopher 
Field, Jeremiah R. 
Hall, Thos., Capt. 
Hall, John H. 
Harris, James 
Harpending, Hendrick 
Hall, Thos. E. 
Hall, Henry E. 
Hog, James 
Johnson, William 
Long, Thomas 
Litterat. John 
Lane, Guisbert W. 
Low, Derick, Jr., 
Maxwell, William 
Messeler, Cornelius 
MonT^nyeTEd ward 
Martin, Joshua 
Middagh, Derick 
Powelson, Henry 
Pound, David Samuel 
Pittinger, John 
Perine, James 
Rosebaum, Garret 
Rynearson, Garret 
Runyan, John 
Schooly, John 
Sebring, Abram 
Sebring, Folkert 
Steel, John 
Sutfin, Peter 
Simonson, John 
Striker, Barnt 
Striker, Peter T. 
Ten Eyck, Jacob, Jr., 
Ten Eyck, Matthew 
Teeple, Peter 
Trimley, Peter 
Tunison, James "^ 
Tunison, Abram ^ 
Umston, Thomas 
Vail, David 
Vail, Stephen 
Vail. Edward 
Van Nest, Peter 
Van Arsdalen, Philip 
Van Orden, Tobias 
Van Dike, Cornelius 



Crane, Joseph 

Covert, John 

Costner, James 

Colthart, John 

Cornelison, John 

Dumont, Abram 

Dumont, John 

Deforest, John 

DcGroat, Jacob 

Drake, Francis 

Duun, Francis 

l)oujjhly, Jeremiah 

Dow, Folkert 

DeVroom, Hendrick] 

Falk, Philip, Capt. 

Fitld, Michael 

Goliry, Oliver 

Hall, William 

Hall, John T. 
' Harrison, Mathias ^' 

Hutchinson, John 

Hall, George E. 

Hoagland, John 

Howel, David 

Limberger, Gab'l. 

Long, John T. 

Lane, Abraham 

Lane, Guisbert A. 

Oliver, Jeremiah 

Maxwell, David 

Messeler, John 

Millega^CTatnes 

Mealick, Philip 

Mowerson, Frederick 
Powelson, John 

Pound, Zachariah 
Perine, Nicholas 

Pangman, Samuel 
Rendle, John 
Rowen, Hugh 

Steddiford, Peter 
Spader, William 
Sebrin , Cornelius 
Sebring, Thomas 
Stevens, Jas. 
Staats, Cornelius 
/ Sears, Isaac 
Striker, Christr. 
Smith, John 
Ten Eyck, Abraham 
Ten Eyck, Peter 
Teeple, John 
Tunison, Cornelius ** 
Tunison, John *- 
Totteu, Joseph 
Vail, John 
Vail, Abraham 
Vail, Isaac 
Van Nest, George 
Van Nest, Jacob 
Van Arsdalen, Abraham 
Van Vechten, Michl. 
Van Derver, Michl. 



Clickinger, George 
Covert, Luke 
Cain, Richard 
Colthart, Eliick 
Campbell, Klias 
Dumont, Peter 
Dumont. John, Jr., 
Dinnis, Ruben 
Dumot, Lawrence 
Drake, Elisha 
Dunn, Rtubeii R. 
Dally, William 
Davis, Isaac 
Elmendorf, John, Capt. 
Freeman, Clarkson 
Field, Jeremiah B. 
Goldtrap, John 
Hall, Abraham 
Harris, Garret 
Hay, Eohraim 
Hall, Lieut.. Geo. 
Hall, George I. 
Heberton, George 
Hutchinson, John 
Limberger, John 
Lazarda, David 
Lane, Cornelius 
Lane, William 
ISI )rri.';, F. Jonathan 
Meldron, Garret 
Masselious, Peter 
McKinley, Joseph 
Murphy, William 
Probasco, Garret 
Powelson, Minne 
Post, Henry 
Perrine, Peter 
Quick, Peter 
Reamer, George 
Roland, George 
Schenk, Abram H. 
Sharp, Mathias 
Sebring, John 
.Steel, Alexander 
Stevens, Henry 
Stillwell, Enoch 
Smalley. John 
Striker, Peter 
Ten Eyck, Jacob, Capt. 
Ten Eyck, Andrew 
Tahworth, Wm. 
Teeple, George 
Tunison, Cornelius P. 
Tunison, Denise ' — 
Uuderdurk. Isaac 
Vail, Samuel 
Vail, Abm. S. 
Vail, Thomas 
\ Van Nest, John 
Van Nest, Bernardus 
Van Arsdalen. Philip H. 
Van Buren, Abm. Jr. 
Van Duin, John 



164 



Vanostrand, Jacob 
Van Home, Philip 
Vaa Doren, Christr. 
Van Pelt, RulifiF 
Voorhees, James 
Vossaler, George 
Vossaler, Luke 
Waldron, John 
Worley, Heury 
Willctt, Saml. 
Wiueas, Isaac 



Vaaostrand, Christr. 
Van Ortwick, John 
Van Doren, Isaac 
Voorhees, Ruliflf 
Voorhees, Adrain 
Vossaler, Peter 
Vroome, John 
Waldron, Daniel 
WyckofF, Jacob 
Wintersteen, Jas. 
Winens. William 

EASTERN PRECINCT. 



Van Home, Jas. 
Van Doren, Jacob 
Van Doren, Bergen 
Voorhees, Folkert 
Voorhees, Abm. 
Vossaler, Jacob 
Vroom, Hendrick 
Waldron, Thos. 
Wheeler, James 
Wheb, Pender 
Winens, Philip 



Doctor Jacob Ritseu Hardeubergh, Col. John Bayard and John Taylor, Esq., 
Frederick Frelinghuysen, Col. and Esq., Presidents of Colleges ; Moses Scott, 
Esquire, John Parker, Isaac Davis, John Stryker, Jacob Wyckoff. 



Armstrong, Martin 
Aughten, John 
Berrien, John 
Baker, John 
Buis, Folkert 
Brocaw, Bergen 
Cortelyou, Hendrick 
Cock, John 
Demont, Peter 
Davis, Thos. Jr., 
DeHart, Hendrick 
Folkertsou, Richard 
Feurt, Hendrick 
Garrison, Garret 
Garrison, John 
GulJck, Johannes 
Gulick, Samuel 
Hageman, Benjamin 
Higgins, Jodiah 
Hogeland, Elbert 
Hogeland, Tunis 
Kenney, Simon 
Loore, Ephraim 
Moore, Rynear 
Nevius, Peter, Jr., 
Nevius, Peter D. 
Patterson, Mdthew 
Probasco, Peter 
Pumyea, Peter 
Rule, John, Jr., 
Rapalyie. Tunis 
Smith, Adam, Jr., 
Smith, Jonathan 
Schenk, Martiue 
StoothoflF. Peter 
Stoothoff, Corul. 
Simonson, Cornls. 
Skillman, Benjamin 
Staats, Abm. 
Totten, lycvy 
Van Tine, Chas. 
Van Liew, John C. 
Van Iview, Hendrick 
Van Liew, Cornelius 
Van Angelan, Cornls. 
Vaa Derwoort, Gabl. 



Anderson, George 
Bray, John 
Berrien, Wm. 
Baker, Moore 
Buis, Jacob 
Blew, John 
Cowenhoven, Joseph 
Cole, James 
Drake, Jamesj 
DeHart, Cornelius 
Egbert, Thomas 
Fisher, Jeremiah 
Feurt, Thomas 
Garrison, Samuel 
Garrison, Rem 
Gulick, Joachim 
Gulick, Abm. 
Hageman, Aaron 
Higgins, Joshua 
Hogeland, John 
Honeyman, John 
Kinney, Peter 
Lepardes, Christopher 
Messeler, Peter 
Nevius, David 
Ogelvie, John 
Probasco, Jacob 
Probasco, John 
Quick, Abm. 
Rapalyie. Jerome 
Slover, Isaac 
Smith, Albert 
Smith, Jonathan, Jr., 
Schenk, Hendrich 
StoothoflF, John 
Simonson, John 
Skillman, John 
Skillman, Benj., Jr., 
Stryker, Simon 
Van Clieve. John 
Van Liew, John 
Van Liew, Frederick 
Van Liew, Jeremy 
Van Ostrand, Adrain 
Van Arsdalen. Hendrick 
Van Derver, Garret 



Anderson, Simon 
Bergen, Hendrick 
Belts, Richard 
Badcock, Thos. 
Buis, Jacob, Jr., 
Blew, Peter 
Cowenhoven, Nichs. 
Clarkson, Samuel 
Davis, Peter 
DeHart, Cornelius, Jr., 
Folkertson, Philip 
Fisher, John 
Garrison, Bemardus 
Garrison, Peter 
Gulick, John 
Gulick, Isaac 
Hogeland, George 
Higgins, Samuel 
Hogeland, Abm. 
Hogeland, Hendrich 
HuflF, Peter 
Jones, William 
Mersereau, Joshua 
Nevius, Peter 
Nevius, William 
Oppie, Edward 
Probasco, Hendrick 
Ferine, Dan'l. 
Rule, John, Capt. 
Rapalyie, George 
Smith, Adam 
Smith Benjamin 
Smith, Peter 
Schenk, Rike 
Stoothoff, Elbert 
Simonson, Abm. 
Skillman, Thos. 
Speader, John 
Still well, Jeremiah 
Van Tine, Ephm. 
Van Liew, John T. 
Van Liew, Frederick, Jr. 
Van Liew, Denise 
Van Ostrand, John 
Van Arsdalen, Wyndert 
Van Derver, John 



165 



Van Derver, Michael 
Van Dorn, John 
Van Dorn, Abraham 
Van Ortwick, Chris. 
Van Nest, Jerome 
Van Duin, Jas. 
Van Duin, Abm. 
Veghten, John 
Voorhees, Abm. T. 
Voorhees, Jacob 
Voorhees, Peter 
Williamson, George 
WyckoflF, Garrett 
Waldron, John. 



Van Derver, Cornelius 
Van Dorn, Cornelius' 
Van Dorn, Abraham 
Van Ortwick, Henry 
Van Nest, John 
Van Duin, Cornls 
Van Duin, William 
Veghten, Nicholas 
Voorhees, John S. 
Voorhees, Jaques 
Voorhees, Minne 
Wyckoff, Simon 
Wyckoff Peter 



Van Dorn, Peter 
Van Dorn, Benjamin 
Van Ortwick, Simon 
Van Nest, Abm. 
Vickers, Thos. S. 
Van Duin, Denise 
Van Duin, John 
Voorhees, Abram 
Voorhees, Ruliff 
Voorhees, Luke 
Williamson, Jas. 
Wyckoff, John 
Wyckoff, Cornelius 



HILLSROROUGH TOWNSHIP. 



Peter DeVroom and Col. Nicholas DuBois, Esq., Garret Terhune. 



Aumerman, Oake 
Aumerman, Thos. P. 
Allen, Nathan 
Bellard, Nat. 
Bennet, John, Jr., 
Brokaw, Caleb 
Brocaw, Isaac, Jr., 
Bullers, Adam 
Compton, Jacob 
Cock, Edward 
Coshun, Joshua 
Covert, Bergun 
Cortelyou, Wm. 
Dumont, Peter A. 
DuBois, Abm. 
Ditmars, Johannes 
Ditmars, Abm. 
Dates, Henry 
Flagg, Jacob, Jr., 
Gano, George 

Herder, Philip 

Huff, Richard 

Hartough, Linglebart 

Hogeland, Albert 

Hogeland, Harmon, Jr., 

Hogeland, Luke 

Kemple, Adam 

Low, Abm. 

Lafler, Coenradt 

Lipincut, James 

Lott, Isaac' 

Mershon. Adrew 

Nevius, Martin 

Nevius, Cornelius 

Peterson, Cornelius 

Peterson, Garret 

Perlee, Peter 

Pittinger, Henry 

Post, William W. 

Powelson, John 

Quick, Jacob 

Quick, Peter I. 

Stoohoff, Albert 

Schenk, Henry H. 

Schomp, George N. 

Statts, Peter H, 



Aumerman, Albert 
Arrowsmith, Benjamin 
Beekman, Samuel 
Bergin, James 
Brewer, Peter 
Brocaw, John 
Brocaw, Henry 
Clover, Peter 
Cock, Richard 
Cock, Henry 
Creger, Peter 
Covert, Jacob 
Christopher, John 
Dumont, Abm. 
Ditmars, Peter 
Ditmars, Dowe 
Dilts, Peter 
Elison, Ezekiel 
Flagg, John 
Garretson, Garret R. 
Huff, Abraham 
Huff. Tunis 
Hageman, Michael 
Hogeland, Christopher 
Hogeland, John 
Hogeland, Martin 
Kershow, Jacob 
Low, Abm., Jr., 
Lafler, Jacob 
Lott, Cornelius 
Lambert, John 
Merril. Adrain 
Nevius, Johnannes 
Nevius. Jacobus 
Peterson, Peter 
Parcel, Israel 
Perlee, John 
Post, Tunis W. 
Pecker, Jacob 
Quick, Abraham 
Quick, Joachim 
Rynearson. Isaac 
Stout, Benjamin 
Schenk, John h- 
Stryker, Peter — — 
Statts, Peter, H. Jr. 



Aumerman, Albt. T. 
Arrowsmith, Joseph 
Bellard, John 
Bennet, John 
Brocaw, Abm. 
Brocaw, Isaac 
Brower, Alexander 
Compton, Richard 
Cock, John 
Coshun, Joseph 
Crow, Jeremiah 
Covert, Tunis 
Deryea, Abm. 
Dumont, Peter B. 
Ditmars, John 
Ditmars, Dowe, Jr., 
Demitt, John 
Flagg, Jacob 
Griggs, William 
Garretson, Jacobus 
Huff, Isaac 
Huff, Bergen 
Hageman, Michael, Jr., 
Hogeland, Harmon 
Hogeland, Peter 
Kelsey, James 
Low, Derick 
Laboytoux, Peter 
Lafler, Philip 
Lott, John 
Mercer, Archibald 
Nevius, Rujiff 
Nevius, John, Jr., 
Peterson, Ruliff • 
Peterson, Peter, Jr., 
Parcel, Robert 
Pittinger, Abm. 
Post, William I. 
Pecker, Peter 
Quick, Jacob 
Quick, Peter 
Runyan, Benjamin 
Schenk, Abram 
Sebring, Ruliff 
Stryker, John P. 
Statts, Peter I. 



166 



Statts, Rynear, I, 
Suydam, Cornls. 
Smith, Daniel 
Taylor, Willett 
Terhune, William 
Van Clief, Isaac 
Van Arsdalen, Abm. 
Van Arsdalen, Cornelius 
Van Deripe, Yercey 



Statts, Rynear H. 
Suydam, Peter 
Shafer, Peter 
Taylor, Benjamin 
Ten Eyck, Coonradt 
Van Harlingen, Ernest 
Van Arsdalen, John 
Van Deripe, Harmon 
, Van Dorn, Joseph 



Van Middlesworth, AndrewVan Middlesworth, John ^ 
Van Middlesworth, Tunis Jr.VVan Marter, John 



Van Nest, Bernards 
Vroome, Peter B. 
Van Dike, Domin 
Van Liew, Frederick 
Van Liew, Peter 
Van Nice, James Jr., 
Ver Brike, William 
Voorhees, Peter 
Voorhees, Rem. 
Voorhees, Luke 
Voorhees, John 
Wilson, Wyndert, Sr., 
Whitenack, John 
Waldron, Jeromas 



Van Wagenan, Conrad 
Van Derveer, James 
Van Dine, Wm. 
Van Liew, John 
Van Nice, Isaac 
Van Zandt, Bernard 
Ver Brike, Bernardus 
Voorhees, Isaac 
Voorhees, Hart. 
Voorhees, Garret 
Wilson, Hendrick 
Wilson, Wyndert, Jr., 
Whitenack, Abram 
Williamson, Garret 



Statts, John 

Smock, John 

Spaden, Bergun 

Terhune, Stephen 

Ten Eyck, John and Abm. 

Van Vleet, Frederick 

Van Arsdalen, Christopher 

Van Deripe, John 

Van Dorn, John 

Van Middlesworth, Tunis *^ 

Van Nest, George 

Veghten, Rynear 

Van Derveer, Peter 

Van Buren, Abm. Dr. 

Van Liew, Richard 

Van Nice, Jas. 

Ver Brike, John 

Voorhees, Abram 

Voorhees, Isaac (Taylor) 

Voorhees, Albert 

Voorhess, Stephen 

Wilson, Henry, Jr., 

Whitenack, Andrew 

Waldron, Benjamin 

Willamson, Joseph 



WESTERN PRECINCT. / 

Dr. John Witherspoon in Assembly ; Richard Stockton, Esquire ; Col. Henry 
Van Dike, Robert Stockton, Esquire ; Enos Kelsey, r*Iaj.; Christopher Hoagland, 
Aaron Mattison. 



Anderson, Joshua 
Beekman, Abraham 
Baird, Wm. and son, John 
Baker, Timothy 
Blew, David 
Blew, Isaac 
Blew, Wm, 
Cock, John 
Davis, Thos. 
Duryee, William 
Golder, Nicholas 
Heath, John 
Hageman, Joseph A. 
Hageman, Ruliff 
Hunt, Oliver _^- 
Harrison, Henry 
Jeroliman, Nicholas 
Johnston, David 
Kershow, Cornelius 
Lane, Gilbert 
Leigh, Elijah 
Montford, Albert 
Nevius, Jas. 
Patterson, William 
Snowden, Isaac 
Savage, William 

Stout, Daniel 

Stryker, Isaac 
Stryker, Abraham 
Stryker, Peter D. 
Sutphen, Arthur, Jr., 
Sutphen, Peter 



Aumerman, Paul 
Beekman, Christopher 
Baird, Wm., Jr., and Robert 
Brown, John 
Blew, Frederick 
Blew, Lambert 
Carl, Ephraim 
Cornell, Albert, and son 
Duryee, Simon 
Elbertson, Enoch 
Gulick, Hendrick 
Heath, Danl 

Hageman, Joseph & John J. 
Hageman, Aaron 
Hunt, Vamal _— 
Howel, Stephen 
Johnston, John 
Knox, Samuel 
Kenneday, Hendrick 
Longstreet, Aaron 
Morford, Stephen 
Manning, Daniel 
Nevius, Martin 
Quick", Garret 
Scudder, Samuel 
Savage, William, Jr., 
Stout, Richard 
Stryker. Dominicus 
Stryker, Joseph 
Swim, John 
Sutphen, John 
Stockton, John (Farmer) 



Berrian, Hendrick 
Beekman, Gerardus 
Baker, Elias 
Blew, Cornelius 
Blew, John 
Blew, Michael 
Cruiser, Frederick 
Cornell, Cornelius «& Joseph 
Duryee, Jost 
Golder, Abm. 
Hedger, John 
Hageman, Joseph D. 
Hageman, John A. 
Hamilton, James 
Hunt, William 
Jeroliman, John 
Johnston, John, Jr., 
Kershow, Jost 
Lake, Jacobus 
Longstreet, Derick 
Millet, Thomas 
Manly, Aaron 
Polhemus, Danl 
Runyan, James 
Schenk, Jacob — -_ 

Stout, Zebulon v 

Stout, John (Cooper) -\- 
Stryker, Peter A."~" 

Stryker, John D,-. . — 

Sutphen, Arthur 
Sutphen, James 
Stockton, John (Mason) 



Ifi- 



Stockton, Ebenezer 
Salter, Thomas 
Salter, Henry H. 
Skilman, Samuel 
Skilman, Thomas 
Slack, Daniel 
Terhune, Garret 
Van Harlingen, J. M. Rev. 
Van Hornel, John 
Van Arsdaien, Cornelius 
Van Pelt, Christopher 
Veghten, Henry 
Voorhees, Abraham I. 
Voorhees, Peter 
Updike, William 
Updike, Isaac 
Whitenack, Cornelius 
Williamson, Kort 



Stockton, Thomas 
Salter, Peter 
Salter, Jacob 
Skilman, Benjamin 
Skilman, Thos., Jr . 
Ten Broeck, Corneilus 
Terhune, Daniel 
Van Dike, Jacob 
Van Derver, Cornls. 
Van Arsdaien, J. and H. 
Van Pelt, John 
Voorhees, John (Smith) 
Voorhees, Oky 
Voorhees. Jacob 
Updike, Bergun 
Updike, Peter 
Wilson, James 
Worth, Samuel 



Salter, John 
Salter. Henry 
Snowden, David 
Skilman, Abraham 
Smith, Jonathan 
Ten Broeck, Jacob 
Terhune. Abraham 
Van Dike, Jeremiah 
Van Derver, Luke 
Van Zandt, Nicholas 
Van Pelt, Garret 
Voorhees, Abraham 
Voorhees, Oky T. 
Voorhees, Kourt 
Updike, Jacob 
Wiggins, Thos. Dr. 
Waters, William 
Wright, Ebenezer, 



We, the Subscribers, Coroners of the County of Somerset, do certify to he Hon- 
orable Supreme Court, or whom else it may coucern, that this Roll contains the 
names of all the male Freeholders living in the County of Somerset, as taken from 
the Duplicate Assessment Lists of the present Assessors in its several townships and 
precincts, viz.: 

David Kelly, Esq., William McEowen, Richard Hall, Hendrick Cortelyou, 
Nicholas DuBois, Esq , and David Couenhoven, and that the remarks opposite the 
names in the several columns, of tenancies, removals and deaths are true to the best 
of our knowledge and belief. 

Given under our hands this 24th day of April, 1790. 

ANDRIS TEN EYCK, 
JACOB LEWIS, 
GARRET VOORHIES, 

Coroners. 



CONXKNXS. 



No I —The River. — The Raritan and its branches. Geological observa- 
tions. Attractions of the beautiful river r 

No. 2. — The First Land Title. — The land where Bound Brook stands 
purchased by Philip Carteret and others in 1681 from the Indians. 
Thomas Codrington and John Royce among the purchasers. Their 
descendants 4 

No 3 — The Second Land Title. — The second Indian purchase. Promi- 
nent settlers. Their mode of life — family history 6 

No. 4 — The Third Land Title — The third Indian purchase. Robert Van 
Quillen. The " Patterson Farm." The Old White Oak Tree at the 
Wallace House 9 

No. 5 — The Fourth Land Title.— The fourth Indian purchase. The 

Campbell Family. The Old Bell in the Old Bound Brook Academy.- 12 

No 6 — Other Land Grants. — Several notable purchases. The Scotch 
purchasers send out settlers The Lutheran Cemetery at Pluckamiu. 
The grave of Captain William Leslie. Washington, Hamilton, and 
Lafayette at the Grand Ball at Pluckamiu 15 

No 7 — Some of the First Settlers on the Raritan. — Names of thirty 
early families. Many Huguenot names. Religious progress. 
Increase of churches 18 

No 8 —Somerset County Formed— Its Laws Executed. — The old bound- 
aries of the county in 1688 The first five townships First court 
house was erected at Main and Mechanic streets. Also used as a 
church. Part of it called the "Log Jail." Criminal laws rigidly 
enforced. Only nine executions in the history of the county. Revo- 
lutionary soldiers plunder the farmers. Various laws 21 

No 9 — Roads. — The Indian path. Early road laws. "The King's High- 
way." The " Upper and Lower Roads." Stage line from Burlington 
to Perth Amboy. Bridges. A Revolutionary incident 25 

No 10 — Some of the Men of Somerset. — The early settlers. Jacobus 
Vanderveer, once the richest man in the county. Obituaries of 
Abraham Van Neste, Jacob Bergen and Derrick Van Veghten. Gen- 
eral and Martha Washington at the Wallace House in the Winter of 
1778-9. Hendrick Fisher John Mahelm. Philip Van Horn. 
"Phil's Hill." 28 

No I r — Men of Somerset — Continued. — William Mercer. John M Bay- 
ard. Peter Dumont. The Veghtes. The Vrooms. William Churchill 
Houston, the scholar, lawyer, legislator and statesmen ; the first pro 
fessor of mathematics and natural philosophy at Princeton and a clerV- 
of the State Supreme Court --. — 

No. 12 — Men of Somerset — Continued — David Kirkpatrick Geners 
Frederick Frelinghuysen. William Patterson The " Patterso 
Farm." William Alexander, known ns " Lord Sterlitig " of Revolt 
tionary fame. Richard Stockton, the progenitor of the famou 
Stockton family. John Witherspoon and his home, " Tusculnm."- 



J 



^ 



170 

No. 13. — Men of Somerset — Continued. — ^Judge Berrien. John McPherson 
Berrien. The Bayards. James Linn. The " Linn Farm." The famous 
Southards, Henry the father and Samuel L., the son who adorned 
his country. Andrew Kirkpatrick, the Chief Justice. General John 
Frelinghuysen 38 

No. 14. — Men OF Somerset — Continued — Richard Stockton, the 2nd. Bio- 
graphical sketch of Samuel L. Southard. Frederick Frelinghuysen. 
George McDonald, the first lawyer in Somerville. Theodore Freling- 
huysen. Frederick T. Frelinghuysen. Commodore Robert F. Stock- 
ton. William L. Dayton. Others 42 

No. 15 — Historical Houses. — The Abraham Staats" house, once Baron 
Steuben's headquarters. Hendrick Fisher house. " Sterling's Build- 
ings." White's tavern. The home of Jane McCrea. The Miller 
bouse, now known as the Wallace House. The old parsonage, the 
first Theological Seminary of the Dutch Church. The Patterson 
house. Judge Berrien's house. The Brokaw house. Other noted 
dwellings 47 

No. 16 — Washington and Dr Hardenbergh — Their Friendship Their 
Lei ters. Wathington's order against profanity. Patriotic resolutions 
of Somerset Electors. Also touching taxation and morality 52 

No. 17. — Servitude and Slaves — Bond Men. The Apprentice System. 
Negro Slavery. Murder of Jacob Van Nest. The Negro population 
of Somerset. Abolition of Slavery. Rev. Dr. Finley, originator of 
the American Colonization Society 56 

No. 18. — The Revolution. — Somerset Delegates to the First_ColJonial Con- 
gress held in New York City. Military movements in 1776. General 
Charles Lee Gloomy days 60 

No. 19 — The Revolution, 1777. — Wounding of Colonel Rabe by Colonel 
Frederick Frelinghuysen. The second march through Somerset. 
Another mention of Captain William Leslie's death. The farmers 
plundered by the British. The line of forts. Washington's tactics at 
Bound Brook and Middlebrook 64 

No. 20 — Revolution, 1777 — The army at Middlebrook and the vicinity. 
Ttie encampment located. Timidity of the British. Morgan's select 
rifle corps 68 

No. 21 — Revolution — Continued, 7777. — The military operations in Somer- 
set continued. " Washington Rock." The other rock. American 
success during the year 72 

No 22. — Revolution — Continued. iyj8 — The battle of Monmouth. Thecon- 
dnct of General Charles Lee. His history, letters and death. Winter 
quarters in Somerset 76 

No. 23. — Revolution — Continued, ijjS-jg — The encampment at Mount 
Pleasant. Resolutions of Congress against theatrical entertainments, 
horse racing, gaming and other diversions. The army at Pluckamin 
celebrates the French alliance by a ball, fireworks and illuminated 
paintings. The academy. Depreciation of the currency. Somerset 
abandoned as the theatre of military operations . 79 

— Simcoe's Raid and Concluding Scenes of the Revolution. 
— Destroys the Dutch meeting house at Raritan and the Court House 
at Millstone. Disloyal Citizens. Simcoe taken prisoner S3 



■> 



; 



171 

o. 25 — SiMCOE's Raid and Burning of Raritan Church, Oc 
27- 1779 — "Tory Jim " Stewart. Chief events of the raid revi 
Sketch of Siaicoe. Remembers his benefactor Brave fij^ht ol 
tain G. P. Voorhees, of Millstone. The new Church and 
House of 1783 

o 26.— The Concluding Scenes of the Revolution, 1780 to 
and Peace. — Somerset county impoverished by the War. 
county heartily responded to Washington's requistion in the \\ 
of 1780. The severity of the Winter. Failure of an attempt to f 
the British on Staten Island. Hardships at Morristown B 
raids. Murder of Mrs Caldwell at Elilabethtown. Arrival o 
French auxiliary. Discontent in the army. Jersey troops at " 
town Somerset freed from the soldiers. Farming revived — E 
the War .. 

o. 27.— The Ladies IN THE Revolution.— Patriotism of Philadelpli 
dies. Extends to Treuton. Committees in all the counties. 
Somerset Committee. Lady Sterlipg. Mrs. General Morris. 
Colonel Martin. Mrs Attorney General Patterson. Mrs. Ric 
Stockton.- 

o 28 —Washington in Social Life.— Congress at Trenton and Priucf. 
Mutiny among the Pennsylvania troops. Washington at Rocky 
Social calls at the VanHorns. Duulap, the painter, describes W 
ington. John VauHoru catches a pig 

o. ->9 — SOMERVILLE — Earlier names of settlers. Name of the i 
adopted in 1801. Its rise dates from the building of the Rai 
Church in 1778. Locating the County Court House. Progress o 
town 

o. 30 — The Academy. — Origin of the academy. The promoters. L 
George, the first teacher. Incorporated in 1804 Dissolved in 18 

o. 31 — Bound Brook — The Indian purchase. Thomas Codrington. 
first settler. The "Great Raritan Road" laid out. Early hoi 
General Lincoln's headquarters. The first school house. The te. 
ers Revolutionary incidents. Progress and Prosperity. Im 
names 

lo 32 — The Old Red School House. — Its origin. " Master Warburtoi 
The manner of teaching 

Jo. 33 — The Old Red School House. — Remii.'iscences of Master Warhui 
and the school house - 

THE INDIANS ON THE RARITAN. 
}haptkr I — Indian traditions. The Raritan tribe Habits and customs 

Th^ptkR II — Further notice of the Raritan Indians Sale of Staten Isli 
Conflicts with the early Dutch settlers. Succeeded by a treaty 
peace 

.:hapter III.— Indian relics. Indian villages Further contests betwe 
the Dutch and the Indians. Indian revenge -- 

2H\prRR IV — Fresh difficulties between the settlers and the Indian-^. M 
der and pillage. Peace finally concluded 

Ch.\ptkk V. — Conflicts with the Indians continue. Many murders. 



172 

— Miscellaaeous notices of the Raritan tribe. Early land pur- 
;s from the Indians. Departure of the Raritan Indians from 
srset 134 

;i,— Description of the habits and customs of the New Jersey In- 
s. Governor Bernard settles all Indian claims to land in New 
;y 137 

[II. — The New Jersey I^egislature pays $2,000.00 to Bartholemew 
alviu, a representative of the Delaware tribe. Calvin's petition 
edress advocated by Samuel L. Southard. His acknowlegement 
ae grant. Calvin, or " Wilted Grass," educated at Princeton 131 

CHIMNEY ROCK, 
A legend of the Raritan Indians. 



, — The feud between the Raritans and the Manhattans. The love 
-y of the young Manhattan chief and the daughter of a Raritan 
ef 14 

I. — The jealousy of Manamsamitt, an inferior Raritan chief. He 
ys the youog Manhattan chief. The maiden mourns her lover's 
;ence, and seeks death by plunging into the "well," The father 
the young chief avenges the death of his son 14 

WASHINGTON ROCK, 
Or Reminiseuces, etc. 



I — How the Rock derived its name — The range of vision — Wash- 
gton's daily visits in May and June, 1777. Movements of the op- 
sing armies. The Americans massed at Middlebrook ane Rocky 
ill i; 

II. — The militia join General Sullivan's forces near Clover Hill, 
tirmishes. Washington's wonderful strategy. The British com- 
etely foiled. American successes i 

f Officers and Freeholders in Somerset county in 1790. 



'^ .^ 



